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THEIR 



MEMOIRS AND ADMINISTRATIONS, 



INCLUDING 

AN ACCOUNT OF THE INAUGURATION OF EACH ^RESIDENT, AND A 

HISTORY OF THE POLITICAL EVENTS OF HIS ADMINISTRATION, 

AND THE TRANSACTIONS OP CONGRESS AT EACH SESSION: 

TO WHICH IS ADDED, 

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE ; ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION ; CONSTITU- 
TION OF THE UNITED STATES, WITH NOTES AND DECISIONS ; A BRIEF HISTORY 
OF THE EVENTS AND CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH LED TO THE UNION OF THE STATES, 
AND FORMATION OF THE CONSTITUTION ; A SYNOPSIS OF THE CONSTITUTIONS 
OF THE SEVERAL STATES ; TABLES OF MEMBERS OF THE CABINETS, MINISTERS 
TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES, AND A LIST OF MEMBERS OF CONGRESS FROM 1789 TO 1849 ; 
STATISTICAL TABLES OF REVENUE, COMMERCE, AND POPULATION ; CHRONOLOGI- 
CAL TABLE OF HISTORICAL EVENTS IN THE UNITED STATES, ETC. 



BY EDWIN AVILLIAMS. 



EMBELLISHED WITH TWELVE PORTRAITS ENGRAVED ON STEEL. 



NEW YORK: ^ .""V 

EDWARD WALKER, 114 FULTON STREET 



Qe/u:^^:^ 4^'lft^ J^^Lt^ 4g^c^ I 
I^Vt^^^^Ci^* ^K^/^%tt^ «>^M^^cr#^ - I 



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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849,, 

By EDWARD WALKER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Southern 
District of New York. 



STEREOTYPED BY C. C. SAVAGE, 
13 Chambers Street, N. Y. 

E. N. GROSSMAN, PRINTER, 12 Sprvjce SL 






PUBLISHER'S ADVERTISEMENT. 



In presenting this work to the American public, I feel a confidence 
that the name of the editor, and the importance and interest of the sub- 
ject, will make it peculiarly acceptable. Aside from the interest which 
the mere biography of an individual, so exalted as the first oflTicer in our 
republic excites, the record of the connexion of such an individual in an 
official capacity, with the history of his times, can not fail to be of great 
interest to every American, emulous to become thoroughly acquainted with 
the practical workings of our system of government. And what Ameri- 
can citizen does not desire to become conversant with these things ? Sure- 
ly none who value the privileges, or correctly estimate the importance, 
of the ballot-box ; for who can deposite his vote there intelUgentlt/, without 
a thorough knowledge of the operations of our political system ? 

The Lives of the Presidents, with sketches of their respective admin- 
istrations, from the adA])tion of the federal constitution and the inaugura- 
tion of Washington to the present time, as set forth in the work in ques- 
tion, necessarily contains a connected, though brief history of our coun- 
try, our foreign and domestic relations, our progress, &c., from the Revo- 
lution down to the inauguration of General Taylor. 

The synopsis of antecedent history, having a relation to the progress 
of our government and people is peculiarly interesting, for it exhibits the 
throes of that mighty convulsion which evolved a free government, and 
self-government, from amid the despotisms of petty colonial tyrants, and 
portrays that courage, made strong by the consciousness of right, which 
hurled the gauntlet of defiance at the feet of British power, and challenged 
it to a trial of strength. That gauntlet was the Declaration of Independ- 
ence, in 1776, the trial of strength was the war that sustained that decla- 
ration, and the herald's trumpet of victory for America, was the proclama- 
tion of a treaty of peace in 1783. 



ADVERTISEMEXT. 



Great pains has been taken to procure faithful likenesses of each pres- 
ident, and they have been engraA^ed on steel in the finest style of the art, 
by the much-celebrated artist, V. Balch, Esq., of Johnstown, New York. 
These portraits may all be relied upon as correct, and faithfully present to 
the eye of the reader, the true likenesses of our presidents. 

In every particular, this work is worthy of the most substantial support 
for its value is intrinsic, the matter being chiefly derived from official pub- 
lic documents ; and I feel great pride in being the instrument in laying 
such a treasure before the American public. 

EDWARD WALKER. 

New York, May, 1849. 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

Biographical Sketch of Geouge Washington 7 

Administration of Washington 63 

Farewell Address of Washington "^^ 

Biographical Sketch of John Adams 89 

Administration of John Adams 97 

Biographical Sketch of Thomas Jefferson 107 L^ 

Administration of Jefferson 117 

Biographical Sketch of James Madison , 165 

Administration of Madison 171 

Biographical Sketch of James Monroe 213 

Administration of Monroe • 221 

Biographical Sketch of John Quinct Adams 243 I/" 

Administration of John Quincy Adams 255 

Biographical Sketch of Andbew Jackson 277/^ 

Administration of Jackson > 301 

Biographical Sketch of Martin Van Buren 369 ■' ' 

Administration of Van Buren 385 

Biographical Sketch of William Henry Harrison 3.99 

Biographical Sketch of John Ttler , , 425 

Administration of Tyler 443 

Biographical Sketch of James Knox Polk , . 479 

Administration of Polk 489 

Biographical Sketch of Zachart Tatlok . . , 505 

Documents, Historical and Statistical 545 

Declaration of Independence 547 

Articles of Confederation > • 551 

Constitution of the United States ....;• 558 

Historical Sketch of the American Union 575 

Congress at Albany, 1754 590 

Congress at New York, 1765 591 

Presidents and Sessions of Continental Congress 592 

Members of Continental Congress • • , 593 

Signers of Declaration of Independence, their birthplaces, deaths, etc. . . . 597 



6 CONTENTS, 

Documents, Histohical axd Statisticai. (continued) — page. 

Senators and Representatives in Congress since 1789 598 

Sessions of Congress, showing their Commencement and Close, Speakers, etc. 627 

Votes for Presidents and Vice-Presidents by States, since 1789 628 

Members of the Cabinet of each Administration, since 1789 631 

Public Ministers of the United States, to Foreign Countries, since 1789 . . 635 

.lustices of Supreme Court, since 1789 641 

Attorneys-General of the United States, since 1789 641 

Presidents and Presidents ^ro ieni. of the Senate, since 1789 642 

Summary of the Census of 1840 643 

Progress of Population, from 1790 to 1840 643 

Synopsis of the Constitution of each State 645 

Chronological Table of Events in American History 673 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



GEORGE WASHINGTON. 



The family of Washington, in Virginia, is descended from English an- 
cestors, who were anciently established at Turtfield and Warton, in Lan- 
cashire, from a branch of whom came Sir William Washington, of Leices- 
tershire, eldest son and heir of Lawrence Washington, Esq., of Sulgrave 
in Northamptonshire. Sir William had, besides other younger brothers, 
two, named John and Lawrence, who emigrated to Virginia in 1657, and 
settled at Bridge's creek, on the Potomac river, in the county of West- 
moreland. John, the father of Lawrence Washington, died in 1697, leav- 
ing two sons, John and Augustine. Augustine died in 1743, at the age 
of forty-nine, leaving several sons by his two marriages. George, the 
president, was the eldest by his second wife, Mary Ball, and was born at 
Bridge's creek, on the 22d (or 11th, old style) of February, 1732. 

Each of the sons of Augustine Washington inherited from him a sep- 
arate plantation. To the eldest, Lawrence, he bequeathed the estate on 
the Potomac river, afterward called Mount Vernon, which then consisted 
of twenty-five hundred acres, and also other lands and property. The 
second son, Augustine, received an estate in Westmoreland. To George 
were left the lands and mansion where his father lived at the time of his 
disease, situated in Stafford county, on the east side of the Rappahannock 
river, opposite Fredericksburg ; and to each of the other four sons an es- 
tate of six or seven hundred acres. The youngest daughter died in in- 
fancy, and for the only remaining one a suitable provision was made in 
the will. Thus, it will be seen, that Augustine Washington left all his 
children in a state of comparative independence. His occupation had 
been that of a planter, and the large estates he was enabled to leave his 
family had been acquired chiefly by his own industry and enterprise. 

Left a widow, with the charge of five young children, the eldest of 
whom was eleven years of age, Mrs. Washington, the mother of George, 
exhibited her resources of mind in the superintendence of their education 
and the management of the complicated affairs of her deceased husband, 



8 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON-. 

who by his will had directed that the proceeds of all the property of her 
children should be at her disposal until they should respectively come of 
age. This excellent woman had the happiness to see all her children 
come forward with a fair promise into life, filling the sphere allotted to 
them with equal honor to themselves and to the parent who had been the 
only guide of their principles, conduct, and habits. She lived to witness 
the noble career of her eldest son, till he was raised to the head of a na- 
tion, and applauded and revered by the world. Her death took place at 
the age of eighty-two, at her residence in Fredericsburg, Virginia, Au- 
gust 25, 1789. 

Under the colonial governments, particularly in those of the south, the 
means of education were limited. Those young men who were destined 
for the learned professions were occasionally sent to England, when 
their parents were sufficiently wealthy to bear the expenses ; while the 
planters generally were satisfied with such a home education for their sons 
as would fit them for the duties of practical life, by means of a private tu- 
tor, or a teacher of the common schools then in existence. The simplest 
elements of knowledge only, such as reading, writing, arithmetic, and 
keeping accounts, were taught at schools of this description, to one of 
which George Washington was sent, and to such slender advantages was 
he indebted for all the aids his mind received in his juvenile years. 

While at school he was noted for an inquisitive, docile, and diligent dis- 
position, but displaying military propensities and passion for active sports. 
He formed his playmates into companies, who paraded, marched, and 
fought mimic battles, in which he was always the commander of one of 
the parties. He had also a fondness for running, jumping, wrestling, and 
other active sports and feats of agility. 

His early proficiency in some branches of study is shown by his man- 
uscript schoolbooks, which, from the time he was thirteen years old, have 
been preserved. These books begin with geometry, and he had already 
become familiar with arithmetic in the most difficult parts. Many pages 
of the manuscript in question are filled with what he calls Forms of wri- 
ting, such as notes of hand, bills of exchange, bonds, land-warrants, leas- 
es, deeds, and wills, written out with care, and in a clerk's hand. Then 
follow selections in poetry of a moral and religious cast, and Rules of 
Behavior in Company and Conversation, which code of rules it is believed 
had an influence upon his whole life. Of an ardent temperament and 
strong passions, it was his constant effort and ultimate triumph, through 
the varied scenes of his eventful life, to check the one and subdue the 
other. His intercourse with men, private and public, in every walk and 
station, was marked with a consistency, a fitness to occasions, a dignity, 
decorum, condescension, and mildness, which were at once the dictates 
of his own good sense and judgment, and the fruits of unwearied disci- 
pline. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 9 

The last two years which he passed at school were devoted to the 
study of geometry, trigonometry, and surveying, for which he had a deci- 
ded partiality. He thus qualified himself for his subsequent profession as 
a surveyor, in the practice of which he had an opportunity of acquiring 
information respecting vacant lands, and of forming those opinions con- 
cerning their future value which afterward greatly contributed to increase 
his private fortune. Except the above branches of the mathematics, his 
acquirements did not extend beyond the subjects usually taught to hoys 
of his age at the common schools. It is even doubtful whether he re- 
ceived any instructions in the principles of language. By practice, read- 
ing, and study in after-life, he gradually overcame his early defects in 
composition till at length he wrote with accuracy, purity of idiom, and a 
striking appropriateness of phraseology and clearness of style. No aid 
was derived from any other than his native tongue. He never even com- 
menced the study of the ancient classics. While in the army, after the 
French officers had joined the Americans, he bestowed some attention on 
the French language, but at no time could he write or converse in it, or 
indeed translate any paper.* 

In the year 1746, while he was yet at school, a midshipman's warrant 
was obtained for him in the British army, by his eldest brother, Lawrence, 
who had been an officer in the British service, and served at the siege of 
Carthagena and in the West Indies. George, who was then fourteen 
years of age, was desirous thus early of embracing the opportunity pre- 
sented for a naval life, but the interference of an affectionate mother de- 
ferred the commencement and changed the course of his military career. 

Soon after leaving school, in his sixteenth year, he went to reside with 
his brother Lawrence, at his seat on the Potomac river, which had been 
called Mount Vernon, in compliment to the admiral of that name. The 
winter passed in the' study of mathematics and in the exercise of practi- 
cal surveying. At this time he was introduced to Lord Fairfax, and oth- 
er members of the Fairfax family, established in that part of Virginia. 
With this family, his brother Lawrence was connected by marriage, and 
to his intimate acquaintance with them was George Washington mainly 
indebted for the opportunities of performing those acts which laid the 
foundation of his subsequent successes and advancement. 

Lord Fairfax was possessed of large tracts of wild lands in the val- 
leys of the Allegany mountains, which had not been surveyed ; and so fa- 
vorable an opinion had he formed of the abilities and attainments of young 
Washington, that he intrusted to him the responsible service of surveying 
and laying out the lands in question. He set off on this surveying expe- 
dition soon after he had attained his sixteenth year, accompanied by 
George Fairfax, a young man who was a relative of Lord Fairfax. The 
enterprise was arduous, and attended with privations and fatigues, but the 
* Sparks's Life of Washington. 



■^ 



10 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

task was executed in such a manner as to give satisfaction to his employ- 
er, and establish his reputation as a surveyor. Having receiv^ed a com- 
mission or appointment as a public surveyor, he devoted three years to 
this pursuit, which at that time was lucrative and important. 

At the age of nineteen he was appointed one of the adjutant-generals 
of Virginia, with the rank of major. His military propensities had in- 
creased with his years, and he prepared himself by the study of books 
on the military art and by the manual exercise for the life of a soldier. 
But he had scarcely engaged in this service, when he was called upon 
to accompany his brother Lawrence on a voyage to the West Indies for 
his health. They sailed for Barbadoes in September, 1751, and soon af- 
ter landing on that island, George was seized with the smallpox. The 
disease was severe, but with good medical attendance he was able to go 
abroad in three weeks. Leaving his brother Lawrence to embark for 
Bermuda, he returned to Virginia in February, having been absent over 
four months. His brother soon followed him, without recovering his 
health, and died the following summer. Large estates were left by the 
deceased brother to the care and management of George, who was ap- 
pointed one of the executors, with a contingent interest in the estate of 
Mount Vernon and other lands. But his private employments did not pre- 
vent his attention to his public duties as adjutant-general, the sphere of 
which office was enlarged by new arrangements. 

The plan formed by France for connecting her extensive dominions in 
America, by uniting Canada with Louisiana, now began to develop itself. 
Possession was taken by the French of a tract of country then deemed to 
be within the province of Virginia, and a line of posts was commenced 
from Canada to the Ohio river. The attention of Lieutenant-Governor 
Dinwiddle, of Virginia, was attracted by these movements, and he deemed 
it his duty to send a messenger to the French officers and demand, in the 
name of the king of Great Britain, that they should desist from the prose- 
cution of designs which violated, as he thought, the treaties between the 
two crowns. Washington, at his own desire, was selected for this haz- 
ardous enterprise, and he engaged in it with alacrity, commencino- his 
journey the day on which he was commissioned, in October, 1753. His 
course was through a dreary wilderness, inhabited for the most part only 
by Indians, many of whom were hostile to the EngUsh. Conducted by 
guides over the Allegany mountains, he suffered many hardships, and 
experienced many narrow escapes, but succeeded in reaching the French 
forts on the Allegany branches of the Ohio. After delivering the lieuten- 
ant-governor's letter to St. Pierre, the French commanding officer, and 
receiving an answer, he returned, with infinite fatigue and much danger, 
from the hostile Indians, to AVilliamsburg. The manner in which he per- 
formed his duty on this occasion raised him much in public opinion, as 
well as in that of the lieutenant-governor. His journal, which extended 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. H 

to sixty days, was published by authority, and laid the foundation of Wash- 
ington's fame, as it gave strong evidence of his sagacity, fortitude, and 
sound judgment. 

As the French commandant on the Ohio showed no disposition, in his 
answer sent by Washington, to withdraw his forces from that country, the 
assembly of Virginia determined to authorize the governor and council to 
raise a regiment of three hundred men, to be sent to the frontier, for the 
purpose of maintaining the rights of Great Britain to the territory invaded 
by the French. The command of this regiment was given to Colonel 
Fry. Major Washington was appointed lieutenant-colonel, and obtained 
permission to march with two companies in advance of the other troops to 
the Great Meadows. In a dark rainy night, May 28, 1754, Colonel Wash- 
ington surrounded and surprised a detachment of the French troops, a few 
miles west of the Great Meadows. The Americans fired about daybreak 
upon the French, who immediately surrendered. One man only escaped, 
and the commanding officer of the party, M. de Jumonville, and ten of his 
men were killed. Being soon after joined by the residue of the regiment, 
also by two companies of regulars, and Colonel Fry having died, the com- 
mand devolved on Colonel Washington. This body of men, numbering 
less than four hundred, were, in the following month of July, attacked by 
about fifteen hundred French and Indians, at Fort Necessity, situated at 
the Great Meadows, and after a contest which lasted a whole day, the 
French offered terms of capitulation, and articles were signed, by which 
the fort was surrendered, and the garrison allowed the honors of war, and 
permitted to return unmolested into the inhabited parts of Virginia. Great 
credit was given to Colonel Washington by his countrymen, for the cour- 
age displayed on this occasion, and the legislature were so satisfied with 
the conduct of the party as to vote their thanks to him and the officers un- 
der his command. They also ordered three hundred pistoles to be dis- 
tributed among the soldiers, as a reward for their bravery. 

Soon after this campaign, Washington retired from the militia service, 
in consequence of an order from the war department in England, which 
put those of the same military rank in the royal army over the heads of 
those in the provincial forces. This order created great dissatisfaction in 
the colonies, and Washington, while refusing to submit to the degradation 
required, declared that he would serve with pleasure when he should be 
enabled to do so without dishonor. 

The unfortunate expedition of General Braddock followed in 1755. 
The general, being informed of the merit of Washington, invited him to 
enter into his family as a volunteer and aid-de-camp. This invitation 
Colonel Washington accepted, as he was desirous to make one campaign 
under an officer supposed to possess some knowledge in the art of war. 
The disastrous result of Braddock's expedition is well known. In the 
battle of the Monongahela, in which General Braddock was killed, Wash- 



12 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

ing-ton had two horses shot under him, and four balls passed through his 
coat, as his duty and situation exposed him to every danger. Such was 
the general confidence in his talents, that he may be said to have con- 
ducted the retreat. 

Soon after his return to his home at Mount Vernon, Colonel Washing- 
ton was appointed by the legislature of the colony, commander-in-chief 
of all the forces raised and to be raised in Virginia, which appointment 
he accepted, and for about three years devoted his time to recruiting and 
organizing troops for the defence of the colony. In the course of his du- 
ties in this service, he had occasion to visit Boston on business with Gen- 
eral Shirley, who was then the British commander-in-chief in America. 
This journey of five hundred miles, Washington, accompanied by his aid 
and another officer, performed on horseback in the winter of 1756. He 
stopped several days in the principal cities on the route, where his milita- 
ry character and services in the late campaign procured for him much no- 
tice. 

While in New York he was entertained at the house of Mr. Beverly 
Robinson, between whom and himself an intimacy subsisted till it was 
broken off by their opposite fortune twenty years afterward in the revo- 
lution. The sister of Mrs. Robinson, Miss Mary Phillips, was an inmate 
of the family, and being a young lady of rare accomplishments, her charms 
made a deep impression upon the heart of the Virginia colonel. He im- 
parted his secret to a confidential friend whose letters kept him informed 
of every important event. He soon learned that a rival was in the field, 
and was advised to renew his visits ; but he never saw the lady again, 
till she was married to that same rival, Captain Morris, his former associ- 
ate in arms, and one of Braddock's aids-de-camp.* 

In 1758, Colonel Washington commanded an expedition to Fort Du 
Quesne, which terminated successfully, and the French retired from the 
western frontier. By gaining possession of the Ohio the great object of 
the war in the middle colonies was accomplished, and having abandoned 
the idea he had entertained of making an attempt to be united to the Brit- 
ish establishment, he resigned his commission in the colonial service, in 
December, 1758, afteV having been actively engaged in the service of his 
country more than five years. 

Having paid his addresses successfully the preceding year to Mrs. 
Martha Custis, Colonel Washington was married to that lady on the sixth 
of January, 1759. She was three months yoimger than himself, and was 
the widow of John Parke Custis, and daughter of John Dandridge. Dis- 
tinguished alike for her beauty, accomplishments, and wealth, she was pos- 
sessed also of those qualities which adorn the female character, and con- 
tribute to render domestic life attractive and happy. Mr. Custis, her first 
husband, had left large landed estates, and forty-five thousand pounds 
* Sparks's Life of Wasliington. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 13 

Sterling in money. One third of this property his widow held in her own 
right, the other two thirds being equally divided between her, a son, and 
daughter, the former six years old, the latter four, at the time of her sec- 
ond marriage. 

■ An accession of more than one hundred thousand dollars was made to 
Colonel Washington's fortune by his marriage, in addition to what he 
already possessed in the estate of Mount Vernon, and other lands which 
he had selected during his surveying expeditions, and obtained at different 
limes. His extensive private affairs now required his constant attention. 
He was also guardian to the two children of Mrs. Washington, and this trust 
he discharged with all the care of a father, till the son became of age, and 
the daughter died in her nineteenth year. This union was in every respect 
felicitious, and continued forty years ; the lady surviving her distinguished 
husband, only about eighteen months. To her intimate acquaintances, 
and to the nation, the character of Mrs. Washington was ever a theme of 
praise. Affable, courteous, and charitable, exemplary in her deportment ; 
unostentatious and without vanity, she was .much esteemed in private life, 
and filled with dignity every station in which she was placed.* 

To the delightful retreat of Mount Vernon, the late commander of the 
Virginia forces, released from- the cares of a military life, and in posses- 
sion of everything that could make life agreeable, withdrew, three months 
after his marriage and gave himself up to domestic pursuits. These were 
conducted with so much judgment, steadiness, and industry, as greatly to 
enlarge and improve his estate. He had a great fondness for agricultural 
pursuits, and in all the scenes of his public career, there was no subject 
upon which his mind dwelt with so lively an interest as on that of agri- 
culture. The staple product of Virginia, particularly in the lower coun- 
ties, was tobacco, to the culture of which Washington chiefly directed 
his care. This he exported to England for a market, importing thence, 
as was then the practice of the Virginia planters, implements of agricul- 
ture, wearing apparel, and most other articles of common family use. 
For the study of English literature he had a decided taste, and his name 
is frequently to be found as subscriber to such works as were published 
in the colonies. 

The enjoyments of private life at Mount Vernon, and the exercise of 
a generous hospitality at that mansion, continued uninterrupted for a pe- 
riod of about fifteen years ; with the exception of his absence from home 
during the session of the Virginia legislature, to the house of burgesses 
of which colony Washington was first elected a representative from the 
county of Frederic, during his last military campaign, without his personal 
solicitation or influence. He took his seat in that body at Williamsburg 
in 1759, and from that time till the beginning of the revolution, a period 
of fifteen years, he was constantly a member of the house of burgesses, 



14 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

being returned by a majority of votes at every election. For seven years 
he represented jointly with another delegate the county of Frederic, and 
afterward the county of Fairfax, in which he resided. There were com- 
monly two sessions in a year, and sometimes three. He gave his attend- 
ance punctually and from the beginning to the end of almost every session. 

His influence in public bodies was produced more by the soundness of 
his judgment, his quick perceptions, and his directness and sincerity, 
than by eloquence or art. He seldom spoke, never harangued, and it is 
not known that he ever made a set speech, or entered into a stormy debate. 
But his attention was at all times awake, and he was ever ready to act 
Avith decision and firmness. His practice may be inferred by the follow- 
ing counsel. In a letter to a nephew, who had been chosen and taken 
his seat as a member of the assembly, he says : " The only advice I will 
offer, if you have a mind to command the attention of the house, is to 
speak seldom, but on important subjects, except such as properly relate to 
your constituents, and in the former case make yourself perfectly master 
of the subject. Never exceed a decent warmth, and submit your senti- 
ments with diffidence. A dictatorial style, though it may carry convic- 
tion, is always accompanied with disgust." 

In the Virginia legislature, Washington acquitted himself with reputa- 
tion, and gained no inconsiderable knowledge of the science of civil gov- 
ernment. During this period the clashing claims of Great Britain and 
her colonies were frequently brought before the colonial assembly. In 
every instance he took a decided part in the opposition made to the prin- 
ciple of taxation claimed by the mother-country, and went heart and hand 
with Henry, Randolph, Lee, Wythe, and the other prominent leaders of 
the time. His disapprobation of the stamp-act was expressed in unquali- 
fied terms. He spoke of it in a letter written at the lime, as an " uncon- 
stitutional method of taxation," and " a direful attack on the liberties of 
the colonists." And subsequently he said : " The repeal of the stamp- 
act, to whatever cause owing, ought much to be rejoiced at. All, there- 
fore, who were instrumental in procuring the repeal, are entitled to the 
thanks of every British subject, and have mine cordially." He was pres- 
ent in the Virginia legislature, when Patrick Henry offered his celebrated 
resolutions on this subject, and from his well-known sentiments expressed 
on other occasions, it is presumed that Washington concurred with the patri- 
otic party which supported these early movements in favor of colonial 
rights and liberties. 

In the subsequent acts of the people of the colonies in resisting the 
claims and aggressions of the British government, Washington cordially 
sympathized, and approved of the most decisive measures proposed in op- 
position, particularly of the agreements not to import goods from Great 
Britain. "The northern colonies," he remarks in a letter to George Ma- 
son, " it appears, are endeavoring to adopt this scheme. In my opinion, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 15 

it, is a good one, and must be attended with salutary efTects, provided it 
can be carried pretty generally into execution." In these sentiments Mr. 
Mason concurred, and with a view to bring about a concert of action be- 
tween Virginia and the northern colonies, he drew up a series of articles 
in the form of an association. The house of burgesses met in May, 
1769, and as Mr. Mason was not a member, Washington took charge of 
the non-importation agreement paper, which, on being presented by him, 
after the dissolution of the assembly, was unanimously adopted by the 
members who assembled in a body at a private house. Every member 
subscribed his name to it, and it was then printed and distributed in the 
country for the signatures of the people. Washington was scrupulous in 
observing this agreement, enjoining his correspondents in London to send 
him none of the articles enumerated in the agreement of association, un- 
less the offensive acts of parliament should be repealed. 

In the autumn of 1770, Washington, accompanied by a friend, visited 
the western lands of Virginia on the Ohio river, for the purpose of select- 
ing tracts awarded to the officers and soldiers for their services in the 
French war. Proceeding to Pittsburg on horseback, he there embarked 
in a canoe, and descended the Ohio river to the Great Kenhawa, a dis- 
tance of 265 miles. After examining the lands on the latter river and 
making selections, he returned up the Ohio, and thence to Mount Vernon. 

The Virginia assembly, which had been prorogued by the governor, 
Lord Dunmore, from time to time, until March, 1773, is distinguished as 
having brought forward the resolves instituting a committee of correspond- 
ence, and recommending the same to the legislatures of the other colo- 
nies ; Washington was present and gave his support to those resolves. 
At the next session, which took place in May, 1774, the assembly adopted 
still more decisive measures. The news having reached Williamsburg 
at the commencement of the session, of the passage of the act of the 
British parliament for shutting up the port of Boston, the Sympathy and 
patriotic feelings of the burgesses were strongly excited, and they forth- 
with passed an order deprecating this procedure, and setting apart the first 
of June to be observed as a day of fasting and prayer to implore the Di- 
vine interposition in behalf of the colonies. The governor thereupon 
dissolved the house the next morning. 

The delegates, eighty-nine in number, immediately repaired to the Ra- 
leigh tavern, organized themselves into a committee, and drew up and 
signed an association, among other matters, advising the committee of 
correspondence to communicate with the committees of the other colonies, 
on the expediency of appointing deputies to meet in a general correspond- 
ence. Although the idea of a congress had been suggested by Doctor 
Franklin the year before, and proposed by town meetings at Providence 
(Rhode Island), Boston, and New York, yet this was the first public as- 
sembly by which it was formally recommended. 



IG 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 



Twenty-fiv'^e of the Virginia delegates, who had remained in Williams- 
burg, among whom was Washington, met on the twenty-ninth of May, 
and issued a circular letter to the people of Virginia, recommending a 
meeting of deputies from the several counties at Williamsburg, on the first 
of August, for the purpose of a more full and deliberate discussion. 
Meetings were accordingly held in the several counties, resolutions were 
adopted, and delegates appointed to the proposed convention. In Fairfax 
coui'ity, Washington presided as chairman, and was one of a committee to 
prepare a series of resolves, expressive of the sense of the people. These 
resolves are twenty-four in number, and were drawn by George Mason ; 
they constitute an able and luminous exposition of the points at issue be- 
tween Great Britain and the colonies. They are of special interest as 
containing the opinions of Washington at a critical time, when he was 
soon to be raised by his countrymen to a station of the highest trust and 
responsibility.* 

In a letter to his friend Bryan Fairfax, dated July 20, 1774, Washing- 
ton writes as follows : — 

" Satisfied, then, that the acts of the British parliament are no longer 
governed by the principles of justice, that they are trampling upon the 
valuable rights of Americans, confirmed to them by charter and by the con- 
stitution they themselves boast of, and convinced beyond the smallest 
doubt, that these measures are the result of deliberation, and attempted to 
be carried into execution by the hand of power, is it a time to trifle, or 
risk our cause upon petitions, which with difficulty obtain access, and af- 
terward are thrown by with the utmost contempt ? Or should we, because 
heretofore unsuspicious of design, and then unwilling to enter into dis- 
putes with the mother-country, go on to bear more, and forbear to enume- 
rate our just causes of complaint ? For my own part, I shall not under- 
take to say where the line between Great Britain and the colonies should 
be drawn ; bi^ I am clearly of opinion that one ought to be drawn, and 
our rights clearly ascertained. I could wish, I own, that the dispute 
had been left to posterity to determine, but the crisis is arrived when we 
must assert our rights, or submit to every imposition that can be heaped 
upon us, till custom and use shall make us tame and abject slaves." 

One of the principal acts of the Virginia convention, which met at 
Williamsburg on the first of August, 1774, of which body Washington 
was a member, was to adopt a new association, whose objects were re- 
sistance to parliamentary aggressions, by non-intercourse with Great 
Britain. The convention appointed Peyton Randolph, Richard Henry 
Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Richard Bland, and Edmund 
Pendleton, delegates to the first continental Congress, which met at Phil- 
adelphia, on the fifth of September. Two of Washington's associates, 
Mr. Henry and Mr. Pendleton stopped on their way at Mount Vernon, 
* These resolves are in Washington's writings, vol. ii., appendix, page 488. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 17 

whence they all pursued their journey together and were present at the 
opening of the Congress. As the debates of that distinguished assembly 
were never made public, the part performed by each individual can not 
now be known. In its transactions, however, Washington took an active 
part, and Mr. Wirt in his life of Patrick Henry relates an anecdote which 
shows in what estimation he was held by his associate members of 
Congress. Soon after Patrick Henry returned home, being asked whom 
he thought the greatest man in Congress, he replied : " If you speak of 
eloquence, Mr. Rutledge of South Carolina is by far the greatest orator ; 
but if you speak of solid information and sound judgment. Colonel Wash- 
ington is unquestionably the greatest man on that floor." 

Replying to a letter from his friend Captain Mackenzie of the British 
army, then stationed at Boston, in which that officer spoke of the rebel- 
lious conduct of the Bostcnians, their military preparations, and their se- 
cret aim at independence, Washington wrote, while attending the Con- 
gress, giving his sentiments and views on the state of public affairs. 
The following are extracts : — 

" Although you are taught to believe that the people of Massachusetts 
are rebellious, setting up for independence, and what not ; give me leave, 
my good friend, to tell you that you are abused, grossly abused. Give 
me leave to add, and I think I can announce it as a fact, that it is not the 
wish or interest of that government, or any other upon this continent, sep- 
arately or collectively, to set up for independence ; but this you may at 
the same time rely on, that none of them will ever submit to the loss of 
those valuable rights and privileges which are essential to the happiness 
of every free state, and without which, life, liberty, and property, are ren- 
dered totally insecure. 

" Again, give me leave to add, as my opinion, that more blood will be 
spilled on this occasion, if the ministry are determined to push matters to 
extremity, than history has ever yet furnished instances of in the annals 
of North America, and such a vital wound will be given to the peace of 
this great country, as time itself can not cure, or eradicate the remem- 
brance of." 

What is here said of independence is confirmed by the address of the 
first Congress to the people of Great Britain. " You have been told that 
we are seditious, impatient of government, and desirous of independency. 
Be assured that these are not facts, but calumnies." That such were at 
this time the sentiments of the leaders in America, there can be no rea- 
sonable doubt ; being accordant with all their public acts and private dec- 
larations. 

It is not easy to determine at what precise date the idea of independ- 
ence was first entertained by the principal persons in America. The spirit 
and form of their institutions led the colonists frequently to act as an inde- 
pendent people, and to set up high claims in regard to their rights and 



18 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

privileges ; but there is no sufRcient evidence to prove, that any province, 
or any number of prominent individuals, entertained serious thoughts of 
separating entirely from the mother-country, till very near the actual com- 
mencement of the war of the revolution.* 

While Washington and his principal coadjutors had no confidence in 
the success of petitions to the king and parliament, and looked forward 
to the probable appeal to arms, they were still without any other anticipa- 
tions than by a resolute vindication of their rights to effect a change in 
the conduct and policy of the British government, and restore the colo- 
nies to their former condition. 

On returning from Congress to his farm, Colonel Washington was soon 
interrupted in his private occupations by the calls of his fellow-citizens of 
Virginia, to assist in organizing military companies for the defence of the 
colony, and to prepare for the approaching contest with Great Britain. 
He was consulted as the first military character in Virginia, and it seemed 
to be the expectation of the people that in the event of a war he would be 
placed in command of the Virginia forces. Being solicited to act as field- 
officer in an independent company, he wrote to his brother as follows : 
•' I shall very cheerfully accept the honor of commanding it, if occasion 
require it to be drawn out, as it is my full intention to devote my life and 
fortune in the cause we are engaged in, if needful." 

Washington was a delegate to the second Virginia convention, which 
met at Richmond on the 20th of March, 1775, and approved of the pro- 
ceedings of the continental Congress of 1774. A committee, of which 
Washington was a member, was appointed, on motion of Patrick Henry, 
and reported a plan of defence, by embodying, arming, and disciplining 
the militia. He was also on a committee to devise a plan for the encour- 
af^emenl of domestic arts and manufactures. The people were advised 
to form societies for that purpose, and the members of the convention 
.agreed that they would use home manufactures in preference to any others, 

* Among those who from the first seemed, to have a presentiment that reconciliation with 
•Great Britain was out of the question was Patrick Henrj'. As early as 1773, according to 
Mr. Wirt, he alluded to the probability of a Declaration of Independence, and predicted that 
after being assisted by France, Spain, and Holland, " our independence would be established 
and we should take our stand among the nations of the earth !" Down to the year 1775, how- 
ever the idea of independence was not generally prevalent or popular among the great mass 
of the American people. Doctor Timothy Dwightof New Haven, Connecticut, for many 
years president of Yale college, and for a time a chaplain in the revolutionarj- ai-my, confimis 
this statement in his writings. " In the month of July, 1775," he says, " I urged in convei-sation 
with sevei-al gentlemen of great respectability, finn whigs, and my intimate friends, the im- 
portance, and even the necessity, of a declaration of independence on the part of the colonies, 
and alleged for this measure the very same arguments which afterward were generally con- 
sidered as decisive ; but found them disposed to give me and my argiiments, a hostile and 
contemptuous, instead of a cordial reception. These gentlemen may be considered as repre- 
sentatives of the gi*eat body of the tliinking men in this country. A few may perhaps be 
excepted, but none of these durst at that time openly declare their opinions to the public." 

DicigMs Travels, vol. i., page 159. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 19 

themselves. The former delegates were again chosen by the convention 
to represent Virginia in the next continental Congress, and Washington 
with his colleagues repaired to Philadelphia, where that body assembled 
on the 10th of May, 1775. 

Hostilities having commenced between Great Britain and the colonies, 
Congress first proceeded to consider the state of the country and to pro- 
vide for defence. The military fame and reputation of Washington were 
universally acknowledged by his countrymen and duly appreciated by his 
associates in the national councils. He was appointed chairman of the 
various committees charged with the duty of making arrangements for de- 
fence ; including the devising of ways and means, making estimates, and 
preparing rules and regulations for the government of the army. The 
forces under the direction of Congress were, on motion of John Adams, 
called " the continental army." 

The selection of a commander-in-chief of the American armies, was a 
task of great delicacy and difficulty. There were several older officers 
than Colonel Washington, of experience and reputation, who had claims 
for the appointment, but it was considered good policy to make the selec- 
tion from Virginia, and all acknowledged the military accomplishments 
and other superior qualifications of Washington. The New England del- 
egates were among the foremost to propose and the most zealous to pro- 
mote the appointment of Colonel Washington. John Adams, one of the 
Massachusetts delegates, on moving that the army then besieging the Brit- 
ish troops in Boston should be adopted by Congress as a continental 
army, said it was his intention to propose for the office of commander-in- 
chief, a gentleman from Virginia who was at that time a member of their 
own body. When the day for the appointment arrived (the fifteenth of 
June, 1775), the nomination was made by Mr. Thomas Johnson of Mary- 
land. The choice was by ballot, and Colonel Washington was unani- 
mously elected. As soon as the result was ascertained, the house ad- 
journed. On the convening of Congress the next morning, the president 
communicated to him officially the notice of his appointment, and he rose 
in his place, and signified his acceptance in the following brief and appro- 
priate reply : — * 

" Mr. President : Though I am truly sensible of the high honor done 
me in this appointment, yet I feel great distress from a consciousness that 
my abilities and military experience may not be equal to the extensive and 
important trust. However, as the Congress desire it, I will enter upon 
the momentous duty, and exert every power I possess in their service, 
and for support of the glorious cause. I beg they will accept my most 
cordial thanks, for this distinguished testimony of their approbation. 

" But lest some unlucky event should happen unfavorable to my repu- 
tation, I beg it may be remembered by every gentleman in the room, that 

* Sparks. 



20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

I this day declare, with the utmost sincerity, I do not think myself equal 
to the command I am honored with. 

" As to pay, sir, I beg leave to assure the Congress, that, as no pecuni- 
ary consideration could have tempted me to accept this arduous employ- 
ment, at the expense of my domestic ease and happiness, I do not wish 
to make any profit from it, I will keep an exact account of my expenses ; 
those I doubt not they will discharge, and that is all I desire." 

In a letter to his wife, announcing his appointment, dated Philadelphia, 
June 18, 1775, Washington expressed similar sentiments to the foregoing, 
as follows : — 

" My Dearest : I am now set down to write to you on a subject which 
fills me with inexpressible concern, and this concern is greatly aggravated 
and increased, when I reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. 
It has been determir^ed in Congress, that the whole army raised for the 
defence of the American cause shall be put under my care, and that it is 
necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston to take upon me the 
command of it. 

" You may believe me, when I assure you in the most solemn manner, 
that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in 
my power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and 
the family, but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my 
capacity, and that I should enjoy more real happiness in one month with 
you at home, than I have the most distant prospect of finding abroad, 
if -fliy stay were to be seven times seven years. But as it has been a 
kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, I shall hope that 
my undertaking it is designed to answer some good purpose. You might 
and I suppose did perceive, from the tenor of my letters, that I was ap- 
prehensive I could not avoid this appointment, without exposing my char- 
acter to such censures, as would have reflected dishonor upon myself, and 
given pain to my friends. This, I am sure, could not, and ought not, to be 
pleasing to you, and must have lessened me considerably in my own es- 
teem. 1 shall rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence which has 
heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me." 

The appointment was made on the 15th of June, four days after which 
he received his commission from the president of Congress, declaring him 
commander-in-chief of all the forces then raised, or that should be raised, 
in the united colonies, or that should voluntarily ofl'er their services for the 
defence of American liberty. The members of Congress by resolution, 
unanimously pledged themselves to maintain, assist, and adhere to him 
with their lives and fortunes, in the feame cause. Four major-generals, 
eitrht brigadier-generals, and an adjutant-general, were likewise appointed 
by Congress for the continental army. 

On the 21st of June, Gen. AVashington hastened from Philadelphia to 
join the continental army at Cambridge near Boston. He was accompa- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 21 

nied by Generals Lee and Schuyler, and escorted hy a volunteer troop of 
light horse which continued with him to New York. On his way he was 
everywhere received by the people with enthusiasm, and the respect to 
which his new rank entitled him. The particulars of the battle of Bun- 
ker's hill reached him at New York, and increased his anxiety to hasten 
forward to the army. Leaving Gen. Schuyler in command at New York, 
Washington again pursued his journey, escorted by volunteer military 
companies, to Springfield, Massachusetts, where be was met by a commit- 
tee of the provincial Congress of that colony, which attended him to 
Cambridge. He arrived at the latter place on the second of July, and 
took the command of the army the next day. 

At this time Gen. Washington found the British intrenched on Bunker's 
hill, having also three floating batteries in Mystic river, and a twenty-gun 
ship below the ferry between Boston and Charlestown. They had also a 
battery on Copp's hill, and were strongly fortified on Boston Neck. The 
Americans were intrenched at various points so as to form a line of siege 
around Boston and Charlestown. 

The effective force of the American army placed under the command 
of Washington, amounted to fourteen thousand, five hundred men, raised 
in the New England colonies.* Several circumstances concurred to ren- 
der this force very inadequate to active operations. Military stores were 
deficient in camp, and the whole amount in the country was inconsidera- 
ble. Under all these embarrassments, the general observed, that "he had 
the materials of a good army ; that the men were able-bodied, active, 
zealous in the cause, and of unquestionable courage." He immediately 
instituted such arrangements as were calculated to increase their capacity 
for service. The army was distributed into brigades and divisions, and 
on his recommendation, general staff-officers were appointed. Economy, 
union, and system, were introduced into every department. As the troops 
came into service under the authority of distinct colonial governments, no 
uniformity existed among the regiments. In Massachusetts, the men had 
chosen their officers, and (rank excepted) were in other respects, frequent- 
ly their equals. To form one uniform mass of these discordant materials, 
and to subject freemen, animated with the spirit of liberty, and collected 
for its defence, to the control of military discipline, required patience, for- 
bearance, and a spirit of accommodation. This delicate and arduous du- 
ty was undertaken by General Washington, and discharged with great 
address. When he had made considerable progress in disciplining his 
army, the term for which enlistments had taken place was on the point of 
expiring. The commander-in-chief made early and forcible representa- 
tions to Congress on this subject, and urged them to adopt efficient meas- 
ures for the formation of a new army. They deputed three of their mem- 

* Several companies of riflemen from Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, joined the ar- 
my at Cambridge iu SepteTiber, having marched from four to seven hundred miles. 



22 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

bers, Mr. Lynch, Dr. Franklin, and Mr. Harrison, to repair to camp, and 
in conjunction with him and the chief magistrates of the New England 
colonies, to confer on the most effectual mode of continuing, supporting, 
and regulating, a continental army. By them it was resolved to enlist 
23,722 men, as far as practicable, from the troops before Boston, to serve 
till the last day of December, 1776, unless sooner discharged by Congress. 

In the execution of this resolve, Washington called upon all officers 
and soldiers to make their election for retiring or continuing. Several of 
the inferior officers retired. Many of the men would not continue on any 
terms. Several refused, unless they were indulged with furloughs; others 
unless they were allowed to choose their officers. So many impediments 
obstructed the recruiting service, that it required great address to obviate 
them. Washington made forcible appeals, in general orders, to the pride 
and patriotism of both officers and men. He promised every indulgence 
compatible with safety, and every comfort that the state of the country 
authorized. In general orders of the 20th of October, he observed : — 

" The times, and the importance of the great cause we are engaged in, 
allow no room for hesitation and delay. When life, liberty, and property, 
are at stake ; when our country is in danger of being a melancholy scene 
of bloodshed and desolation ; when our towns are laid in ashes, innocent 
women and children driven from their peaceful habitations, exposed to the 
rigors of an inclement season, to depend perhaps on the hand of charity 
for support ; when calamities like these are staring us in the face, and a 
brutal savage enemy threatens us and everything we hold dear, with de- 
struction from foreign troops ; it little becomes the character of a soldier 
to shrink from danger, and condition for new terms. It is the general's, 
intention to indulge both officers and soldiers who compose the new army 
with furloughs for a reasonable time ; but this must be done in such a 
manner as not to injure the service, or weaken the army too much at once.'' 

In the instructions given to the recruiting officers, the general enjoined 
upon them, " not to enlist any person suspected of being unfriendly to the 
liberties of America, or any abandoned vagabond, to whom all causes and 
countries are equal and alike indiflerent."* 

Though great exertions had been made to procure recruits, yet the reg- 
iments were not filled. Several causes operated in producing this disin- 
clination to the service. The sufierings of the army had been great; fuel, 
clothes, and even provisions, had not been furnished them in sufficient 
quantities ; the small-pox deterred many from entering ; but the principal 
reason was a dislike to a military life. Much also of that enthusiasm 
which brought numbers to the field, on the commencement of hostilities 
had abated. The army of 1775 was wasting away by the expiration of 
the terms of service, and recruits for the new, entered slowly.* 

Unfortunately, an essential error had been committed in constituting the 

* Ramsay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 23 

first military establishment of the Union, the consequences of which 
ceased only with the war. The soldiers were enlisted for the term of 
one year, if not sooner discharged by Congress. This fatal error brought 
the American cause more than once into real hazard. 

General Washington had earnestly urged Congress to offer a bounty; 
but this expedient was not adopted till late in January ; and on the last 
day of December, 1775, when the old army was disbanded, only nine 
thousand six hundred and fifty men had been enlisted for the army of 1776. 

The general viewed with deep mortification the inactivity to which he 
was compelled to submit. His real difficulties were not generally known; 
his numbers were exaggerated ; his means of acting on the offensive 
were magnified ; the expulsion of the British army from Boston had been 
long since anticipated by many ; and those were not wanting who insinu- 
ated that the commander-in-chief was desirous of prolonging the war, in 
order to continue his own importance. 

Congress having manifested dispositions favorable to an attack on Bos- 
ton, General Washington continued to direct his utmost efforts to that ob- 
ject. In January, 1776, a council of war resolved, " that a vigorous at- 
tempt ought to be made on the ministerial troops in Boston, before they 
can be reinforced in the spring, if the means can be provided, and a favor- 
able opportunity should offer ;" and for this purpose that thirteen regi- 
ments of militia should be required from Massachusetts and the neighbor- 
ing colonies. The colonies complied with this requisition ; but such was 
the mildness of the early part of the winter, that the waters continue 
open, and of course impassable. 

Late in February, appearances among the British troops indicated an. 
intention to evacuate Boston. But as these appearances might be decep- 
tive, General Washington determined to prosecute a plan which must 
force General Howe either to come to an action or abandon the town. 

Since the allowance of a bounty, recruiting had been more successful, 
and the regular force had been augmented to fourteen thousand men. 
The commander-in-chief had also called to his aid six thousand militia. 
Thus reinforced, he determined to take possession of the heights of Dor- 
chester and fortify them. As the possession of this post would enable 
him to annoy the ships in the harbor, and the soldiers in the town of Bos- 
ton, he was persuaded that a general action would ensue. Should this 
hope be disappointed, his purpose was to make the works on the heights 
of Dorchester preparatory to seizing and fortifying other points which 
commanded the harbor, a great part of the town, and the beach from which 
an embarkation must take place in the event of a retreat. 

To facilitate the execution of this plan, a heavy bombardment and can- 
nonade were commenced on the British lines on the second of March, 
which were repeated on the succeeding nights. On the east of them a 
strong detachment, under the command of General Thomas, took posses- 



24 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

sion of the heights, and labored with such persevering activity through the 
night, that the works were sufficiently advanced by the morning nearly to 
cover them. 

It was necessary to dislodge the Americans or to evacuate the town, 
and General Howe determined to embrace the former part of the alterna- 
tive. Three thousand chosen men commanded by Lord Percy embarked, 
and fell down to the castle, in order to proceed up the river to the intended 
scene of action, but were scattered by a furious storm. Before they could 
be again in readiness for the attack, the works were made so strong that 
the attempt to storm them was thought unadvisable, and the evacuation of 
the town became inevitable. 

This determination Avas soon known to the Americans. A paper signed 
by some of the selectmen, and brought out by a flag, communicated the 
fact. This paper was accompanied by propositions said to be made by 
General Howe, relative to the security of the town and the peaceable 
embarkation of his army. The advances of the American troops were 
discontinued, and considerable detachments were moved toward New 
York before the actual evacuation of Boston. That event took place on 
the seventeenth of March, 1776 ; and in a few days the whole fleet sailed 
out of Nantasket road, directing its course eastward ; immediately after 
which the American army proceeded by divisions to New York, where it 
arrived on the fourteenth of April.* 

Washington and the continental army were received with enthusiasm 
by the inhabitants of Boston. The legislature of Massachusetts presented 
the commander-in-chief with an address, congratulating him on the suc- 
cessful result of the siege of Boston, and expressing their obligations for 
the great services he had rendered to his country. The continental Con- 
gress also passed a unanimous vote of thanks to him, and a gold medal 
was ordered to be struck commemorative of the evacuation of Boston, and 
as an honorable token of the public approbation of his conduct. 

General Howe, with the British army of about ten thousand men, and 
one thousand refugees or tories, sailed for Halifax in seventy-eight ships 
and transports ; but anxious for the safety of New York, and apprehen- 
sive that the British commander might have concealed his real designs 
and directed his course to that important point, the American commander- 
in-chief had directed the march of his array to New York, as already 
stated. They went by land to Norwich, Connecticut, and thence by water 
through Long Island sound. When it was ascertained that the British 
fleet had put to sea, ten days after the evacuation of Boston, Washington 
set oflf for New York, passing through Providence, Norwich, and New Lon- 
don. At Norwich ho had an interview with Governor Trumbull who came 
there to meet him. On the thirteenth of April he arrived in New York.f 

General Washington found it impracticable, or inconsistent with his du- 
* Marsball. t Sparka. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 25 

ties to carry out his original design of visiting his family at Mount Ver- 
non in the winter, and attending for a short space to his private affairs. 
Mrs. Washington therefore joined him at headquarters at Cambridge, in 
December, 1775, where she remained till the next spring. This was her 
practice during the war. She passed the winters with her husband ip 
camp, and returned at the opening of the campaigns to Mount Vernon. 

His large estates were consigned to the care of a superintendent, Mr. 
Lund Washington, who executed the trust with diligence and fidelity. 
Notwithstanding the multitude of public concerns, which at all times 
pressed heavily, and which he never neglected, the thoughts of General 
Washington constantly reverted to his farms. In the midst of the most 
stirring events of the war, he kept up an unremitted correspondence with 
his manager, in which he entered into details, gave minute instructions, 
and exacting reports, relating to the culture of his lands, and every trans- 
action of business. From the beginning to the end of the revolution, 
Lund Washington wrote to the general, as often at least as two or three 
times a month, and commonly every week, detailing minutely all the 
events that occurred on the plantation. These letters were regularly an- 
swered by the general, even when the weight and embarrassment of pub- 
lic duties pressed heavily upon him. 

An extract from one of his letters to Lund Washington on these topics, 
dated December, 1775, will show a trait of character' and the footing on 
which he left his household at Mount Vernon. 

" Let the hospitalities of the house, with respect to the poor, be kept 
up. Let no one go hungry away. If any of this kind of people should 
be in want of corn, supply their necessities, provided it does not encour- 
age them in idleness ; and I have no objection to your giving my money 
in charity, to the amount of forty or fifty pounds a year, when you think 
it well bestowed. What I mean by having no objection is, that is my 
desire that it should be done. You are to consider, that neither myself 
nor wife is now in the way to do these good ofiices. In all other respects, 
I recommend it to you, and have no doubt of your observing the greatest 
economy and frugality ; as I suppose you know, that I do not get a far- 
thing for my services here, more than my expenses. It becomes neces- 
sary, therefore, for me to be saving at home.'"* 

To detail all the operations of Washington in public affairs in the years 
which followed would be to repeat the history of the war of the Ameri- 
can revolution, and, of course, greatly exceed the limits of the part of this 
work allotted to a memoir of his life. We can therefore only allude to 
the prominent events with which his personal history was connected dur- 
ing that eventful period, following him rapidly in his movements, until 
peace and the acknowledgment of American independence by Great 
Britain crowned his efforts in the cause of his country. 

• Sparks 



26 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

The evacuation of Boston varied the scene, but did not lessen the la- 
bors of Washington. Henceforward, he had a much more formidable en- 
emy to contend with. The royal army in Boston was, on a small scale, 
calculated to awe the inhabitants of Massachusetts into obedience, but 
the campaign of 177G was opened in New York with a force far exceed- 
ing anything hitherto seen in America. Including the naA-y, as well as 
the army, it amounted to fifty-five thousand men, and was calculated on 
the idea of reducing the whole united colonies. The operations contem- 
plated could be best carried on from the central province of New York, 
and the army could be supplied with provisions from the adjacent islands, 
and easily defended by the British navy. For these reasons, the evacu- 
ation of Boston, and the concentration of the royal forces at New York, 
had been for some time resolved upon in England. 

The reasons that had induced the British to gain possession of New 
York, weighed with Washington to prevent or delay it. He had there- 
fore, as already stated, detached largely from his army before Boston, and 
sent General Lee to take the command, following the main arm)^ himself 
immediately after the evacuation, and departure of the British army from 
Boston ; and he now made every preparation in his power for the defence 
of New York. Considerable time was allowed for this purpose, in con- 
sequence of the delay of General Howe at Halifax, where that officer 
waited for promised reinforcements from England.* 

Besides the preparations for defence against the British army, Wash- 
ington had to guyd against the numerous disaffected persons and tories, 
or American loyalists on Long island, Staten island, and in the city of 
New York. By the persevering representations of Washington, Con- 
gress adopted measures for the apprehension of this class of enemies to 
the American cause. Many tories were apprehended in New York and 
on Long island ; some were imprisoned, others disarmed. A deep plot 
originating with the British governor Tryon, who continued on board a 
vessel at the Hook, was defeated by a timely and fortunate discovery. 
His agents were found enlisting men in the American camp, and enticing 
them with rewards. The infection spread to a considerable extent, and 
even reached the general's guard, some of whom enlisted. A soldier of 
the guard was found guilty by a court-martial and executed. It was a 
part of the plot to seize General Washington and convey him to the 
enemy. t 

General Howe, with a part of the British fleet and army arrived at the 
hook from Halifax, in the latter part of June, and took possession of Staten 
island. The general then awaited the arrival of his brother Lord Howe, 
who was on his way from England with another fleet, and proposals from 
the British ministry for an accommodation to be offered to the Americans, 
before hostilities should be renewed. 

* Ramsay. t 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 27 

General Washington bad visited Philadelphia in the month of May, for 
the purpose of advising with Congress on the state of affairs and concert- 
ing arrangements for the campaign. He was absent fifteen days, examin- 
ing on his way, Staten island ^.nd the Jersey shore, with the view of de- 
termining the proper places for works of defence. He seems to have 
been disappointed and concerned at dissensions in Congress which por- 
tended no good to the common cause. It was known, from late proceed- 
ings in parliament, that commissioners were coming out from England with 
proposals of accommodation. In a letter to his brother, dated at Phila- 
delphia, May 31, 1776. Washington expresses his gratification that the 
Virginia convention had passed a vote with great unanimity, recom- 
mending to Congress to declare the united colonies free and independent 
states. " Things have come to such a pass now," he writes, " as to convince 
us, that we have nothing more to expect from the justice of Great Brit- 
ain ; also that she is capable of the most delusive arts ; for I am satisfied 
that no commissioners were ever designed, except Hessians and other for- 
eigners ; and that the idea was only to deceive and throw us off our guard. 
The first has been too effectually accomplished ; as many members of 
Congress, in short, the representation of whole provinces, are still feeding 
themselves upon the dainty food of reconciliation ; and though they will 
not allow that the expectaiion of it has any influence upon their judgment 
with respect to their preparations for defence, it is but too obvious that it 
has an operation upon every part of their conduct, and is a clog to their 
proceedings. It is not in the nature of things to be otherwise ; for no 
man that entertains a hope of seeing this dispute speedily and equitably 
adjusted by commissioners, will go to the same expense and run the same 
hazards to prepare for the worst event, as he who believes that he must 
conquer, or submit to unconditional terms, and the concomitants, such as 
confiscation, hanging, and the like." 

Notwithstanding the hesitancy of some of the members of Congress, 
there was still a large majority for vigorous action ; and while he was 
there, they resolved to reinforce the army at New York, with thirteen 
thousand eight hundred militia, drawn from Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
New York, and New Jersey ; and a flying camp of ten thousand more, 
from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.* 

The Declaration of Independence by Congress, on the fourth of July, 
1776, was received by General Washington, and read to the troops under 
his command on the ninth, at six o'clock in the evening ; the regiments 
being paraded for the purpose. The document was read in the hearing 
of all, and received with the most hearty demonstrations of joy and satis- 
faction. In the orders of the day it was said, " The general hopes that 
this important event will serve as a fresh incentive to every oflicer and sol- 
dier to act with fidelity and courage, as knowing, that now the peace and 

* Sparks. 



28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

safety of his country depend, under God, solely on the success of our 
arms, and that he is now in the service of a state possessed of sufficient 
power to reward his merit, and advance him to the hi;^fhest honors of a 
free country." 

Lord Howe arrived at Staten island on the twelfth of July, joining his 
brother, the general, with the expected , additional forces from" England. 
The command of the fleet had been conferred upon the former, and both 
the brothers were commissioners for restoring peace to the colonies. 
Lord Howe was not deterred by the declaration of independence from try- 
ing the influence of his powers for pacification, although he regarded the 
declaration as a circumstance unfavorable to the success of his mission 
He sent on shore a circular letter, dated off the coast of Massachusetts, 
addressed severally to the late governors under the crown (whom he sup- 
posed to be still in power), enclosing a declaration which he requested 
them to make public. It announced his authority to grant pardons, and to 
declare any colony or place under the protection of the king. Assuran- 
ces were also given that the meritorious services of all persons who would 
aid in restoring tranquillity in the colonies would be duly considered. 

These papers were transmitted by the commander-in-chief to Congress, 
who directed their publication, that the people " might be informed of 
what nature were the commissioners, and what the terms with the expect- 
ation of which the insidious court of Britain had sought to amuse and 
disarm them." 

About the same time Lord Howe despatched a letter to General Wash- 
ington by a flag, which the general refused to receive, as it did not acknowl- 
edge the public character with which he was invested, being directed 
" To George Washington, Esq." The course pursued was approved by 
Congress, and a resolve was passed, that in future no letters should be re- 
ceived from the enemy, by commanders in the American army which 
should not be directed to them in the characters they sustained. A few 
days afterward General Howe wrote to Washington, repeating the same 
superscription as had been used by his brother. This letter was likewise 
refused, but an explanation took place through an interview between Colo- 
nel Patterson, adjutant-general of the British army and General Washing- 
ton. General Howe was induced to change his superscription, and from 
that time all letters addressed by the British commanders to General 
Washington bore his proper titles. 

In the conference between Washington and Colonel Patterson, the ad- 
jutant-general observed that " the commissioners were armed with great 
powers, and would be very happy in effecting an accommodation." Gen- 
eral Washington replied " that from what appeared, these powers were 
only to grant pardons ; that they who had committed no fault wanted no 
pardon." 

General Howe, perceiving that all attempts at conciliation were hope- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 29 

less, prepared for the operations of the campaign. He however, delayed 
for some time active measures, as he was still waiting for further reinforce- 
ments. This period was emploj'ed by Washington in strengthening his 
works on New York island. Fort Washington, on an eminence in the 
north part of the island, on the east bank of the Hudson, and Fort Lee, 
on the opposite shore in New Jersey, were commenced, and between these 
forts the channel of the river was obstructed by hulks of vessels and 
chevaux-de-frise. Batteries were erected on the margins of the North 
and East rivers — redoubts were thrown i|p at diiferent places, and the 
island generally placed in a state of defence 

The 'British reinforcements had all arrived by the middle of August, 
and the aggregate of their army was estimated at over twenty-four thou- 
sand men. To this army, aided in its operations by a numerous fleet, was 
opposed the American army, a force unstable in its nature, incapable from 
its structure of receiving discipline, and inferior to the enemy in numbers, 
in army, and in every military equipment. In a letter dated the 8th of 
August, General Washington stated his army consisted of only seventeen 
thousand, two hundred and twenty-five men, of whom three thousand, six 
hundred and sixty-eight were sick. This force was rendered the more 
inadequate to its objects by being necessarily divided for the defence of 
posts, some of which were fifteen miles distant from others, with naviga- 
ble waters between them. The army was soon afterward reinforced by 
regulars and militia, which augmented it to twenty-seven thousand men, 
of whom one fourth were sick. The diseases incident to new troops pre- 
vailed extensively, and were aggravated by a deficiency of tents. 

The American troops were so judiciously distributed on York island. 
Long island. Governor's island, Paulus Hook, and on the sound toward 
New Rochelle, East and West Chester, that the enemy were very cau- 
tious in determining when or where to commence offensive operations. 
Every probable point of embarkation was watched, and guarded with a 
force sufficient to embarrass, though very insufficient to prevent a landing. 
From the arrival of the British army at Staten island, the Americans were 
ill daily expectation of being attacked. General Washington was there- 
fore strenuous in preparing his troops for action. He tried every expe- 
dient to kindle in their breasts the love of their country, and a high tone 
of indignation against its invaders. Thus did he, by infusing into every 
bosom those sentiments which would stimulate to the greatest individual 
exertion, endeavor to compensate for the want of arms, of discipline, and 
of numbers. 

Early in the morning of the twenty-second of August, the principal 
part of the British army landed on Long island, under cover of the guns 
of the fleet ; and extended their line from the Narrows, through Utrecht and 
Gravesend, to the village of Flatbush. On the twenty-seventh, the fifth 
day after landing, a general action took place between the two armies ; the 



30 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

Americans on Long island, tlien commanded by General Putnam, being 
attacked by the British army, under General Clinton. The variety of 
ground, and the different parties employed in different places, both in the 
attack and defence, occasioned a succession of small engagements, pur- 
suits, and slaughter, which lasted for many hours. 

The Americans were defeated in all directions. The circumstances 
which eminently contributed to this, were the superior discipline of the 
assailants, and the want of early intelligence of their movements. There 
was not a single corps of ca^lry in the American army. The transmis- 
sion of intelligence was of course always slow, and often impracticable. 
From the want of it, some of their detachments, while retreating before 
one portion of the enemy, were advancing toward another, of whose 
movements they were ignorant. 

In the height of the engagement Washington passed over to Long island, 
and with infinite regret saw the slaughter of his best troops, but had not 
the power to prevent it ; for had he drawn his whole force to their support 
he must have risked everything on a single engagement. He adopted the 
wiser plan of evacuating the island, with all the forces he could bring off. 
In superintending this necessary, but difficult and dangerous movement, 
and the events of the preceding day, Washington was indefatigable. For 
forty-eight hours he never closed his eyes, and was almost constantly on 
horseback. In less than thirteen hours the field artillery, tents, baggage, 
and about nine thousand men, were conveyed from Long island to the 
city of New York, over the East river, and without the knowledge of the 
British, though not six hundred yards distant. The darkness of the night 
and a heavy fog in the morning, together with a fair wind after midnight, 
favored this retreat. It was completed without interruption some time 
after the dawning of the day.* 

The loss of the Americans at the battle of Long island, was twelve 
hundred men, about a thousand of whom were captured. The loss of the 
British was less than four hundred. 

Immediately after the success of the British arms on Long island, Ad- 
miral Lord Howe, as one of the king's pacificators, made another attempt at 
negotiation. He admitted General Sullivan, who had been taken prisoner, 
to his parole, and sent him to Philadelphia with a verbal message to Con- 
gress, the purport of which was, that although not authorized to treat with 
Congress as such, it being an illegal assembly, yet he was desirous of 
conferring with some of its members as private gentlemen only, whom he 
would meet at any place they might appoint. To this Congress sent a 
reply by General Sullivan, refusing to authorize any of their body to con- 
fer with his lordship in their private capacity ; but saying that they would 
send a committee to inquire into his authority to treat with persons author- 
ized by Congress, and to hear his propositions for peace. Instructions 

* Ramsay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 31 

were at the same time sent to General Washington by Congress, that no 
propositions for peace ought to be received, unless directed in writing to 
the representatives of the United States ; and to inform those who might 
make application for a treaty, that Congress would cheerfully conclude a 
treaty of peace whenever such should be proposed to them as representa- 
tives of an independent people. 

Doctor P'ranklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, were appointed 
by Congress to confer with Lord Howe, whom they met for that purpose 
on Staten island. As Lord Howe declined conferring with the committee 
except as private gentlemen, he being unauthorized to recognise Congress 
as a legal body, the conference terminated without effecting anything. 
The commissioners absolutely refused to entertain any propositions except 
they were made to them as the representatives of a free and independent 
people. The interview was therefore closed, with the understanding, that 
war or absolute independence were the only alternatives the Americans 
chose to recognise. 

General Howe now took measures to drive the Americans out of the 
city of New York. He made preparations to have troops landed from the 
ships on opposite sides of the upper part of the island, while the main body 
of the fleet entered the harbor, and took a position nearly within cannon-shot 
of the city. By this arrangement the Americans would be hemmed in, 
and be compelled to evacuate the city, or sufler the privations and dangers 
of a siege. 

Viewing these preparations of the British commander with alarm, Wash- 
ington called a council of war, on the twelfth of September, sixteen days 
after the battle of Long island, and recommended an immediate withdrawal 
of the troops. This measure was finally determined upon, and with great 
activity the Americans commenced removing the artillery and stores far 
above the city, to Dobb's ferry on the western shore of the Hudson. The 
commander-in-chief retired to the heights of Harlem, and a force of nine 
thousand men was stationed at Mount Washington, King's bridge, and 
other posts in the vicinity, while about five thousand remained near the 
city. The residue were placed between these extreme points, to act at 
either place as occasion might require. 

On the fifteenth, a division of the British army, landed at Kipp's bay on 
the East river, three miles above the city, and attacked the American batter- 
ies erected there. The troops stationed at this place fled with precipita- 
tion, without waiting for the approach of the enemy. Two brigades were 
put in motion to support them. General Washington rode to the scene of 
action, and to his great mortification met the whole party retreating. While 
he was exerting himself to rally them, on the appearance of a small corps 
of the enemy, they again broke and ran off' in disorder. Such dastardly 
conduct raised a tempest in the usually tranquil mind of Washington. He 
viewed with infinite concern this behavior of his troops, as threatening 



32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

ruin to his country. His soul was harrowed up with apprehensions that 
his country would be conquered, her army disgraced, and her liberties de- 
stroyed, while the unsuccessful issue of the present struggle would, for ages 
to come, deter posterity from the bold design of asserting their rights. Im- 
pressed with these ideas, he hazarded his person for some considerable 
time in the rear of his own men, and in front of the enemy, with his 
horse's head toward the latter, as if in expectation that, by an honorable 
death, he might escape the infamy he dreaded from the dastardly conduct 
of troops in whom he could place no dependence. His aids, and the con- 
fidential friends around his person, by indirect violence, compelled him to 
retire. In consequence of their address and importunity, a life was saved 
for public service, which otherwise, from a sense of honor and a gust of 
passion, seemed to be devoted to almost certain destruction.* 

The troops referred to continued their retreat, until they reached the 
main body of the army at Harlem heights. The division in or near the 
city, under the command of General Putnam, retreated with great difh- 
culty, leaving behind them their heavy artillery, and a large portion of the 
baggage, provisions, and military stores, including the tents, which had 
not been removed. The loss of the tents was severely felt by the army, 
at the approach of winter. Fifteen of the Americans were killed, and 
three hundred taken prisoners. The British army entered the city with- 
out much loss and took formal possession of it, to the great joy of the 
tories ; but they had hardly become quiet before a fire broke out, which 
raged until it had destroyed about a third of the city. 

General Howe having organized a temporary government, and left some 
troops in the city, marched with the main body of his army up York island 
and encamped near the American lines in front of Harlem heights. The 
British lines extended across the island, while their shipping defended 
their flanks. Washington had made his strongest post at King's bridge, 
as that preserved his communication with the country. On the day after 
the retreat from New York, a skirmish took place between advanced par- 
ties of both armies, in which the Americans gained a decided advantage, 
though with the loss of two gallant officers, Colonel Knowlton of Connec- 
ticut, and Major Leitch of Virginia. This was the first advantage the 
army under the command of Washington, had gained in the campaign. 
Its influence on the army was great, and the general gave public thanks 
to the troops engaged therein. 

On the twenty- second of October, Washington fell back to White Plains 
in Westchester county, and on the twenty-eighth, a partial action was 
fou'ght there, which resulted in the repulse of the Americans, with some 
loss. Washington retired to Northcastle, five miles farther north, and 
Howe discontinued further pursuit, directing his attention to the American 
posts on the Hudson river. Forts Washington and Lee, were taken by 

" Ramsay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 33 

the British army in November, the garrison in the former, consisting of 
nearly three thousand men, surrendering as prisoners-of-war, and the Brit- 
ish losing about a thousand men in the assault. The garrison in Fort Lee 
made a hasty retreat and joined the main army, leaving behind them their 
cannon, tents, and stores, which fell into the hands of the victors. 

It having become evident to General Washington, that General Howe 
had changed his plan of operations, and designed an invasion of New Jer- 
sey, he crossed the North river with the American army, and, retreating 
before Lord Cornwallis, who had entered New Jersey with six thousand 
men, he took post along the Hackensack river. His situation there was 
nearly similar to that which he had abandoned ; for he was liable to be 
enclosed between the Hackensack and Passaic rivers. He therefore, on 
the approach of the enemy, passed over to Newark, on the west side of 
the latter river, where he stood his ground some days ; but being incapa- 
ble of any effectual opposition, he retreated to New Brunswick, on the 
day Lord Cornwallis entered Newark. At New Brunswick, Washington 
kept his troops in motion, and even advanced a detachment, as if intending 
to engage the enemy. Nor did he quit this position till their advanced 
guards were in sight. He then retreated toward Trenton, pursuing a 
route near the Raritan river, that he might be in the way to prevent Gen- 
eral Howe from throwing in a strong detachment between him and Phila- 
delphia. Although this retreat was effected without loss from the enemy, 
the small force which began it was daily lessening, by the expiration of 
the term of service for which they were engaged. This terminated in 
November with many, and in December, with nearly two thirds of the 
residue. No persuasions were availing to induce their continuance. They 
abandoned their general, when the advancing enemy was nearly in sight. 
General Lee who commanded the eastern troops at White Plains, was or- 
dered by Washington to cross the North river, and join the retreating 
army in New Jersey. Lee was so tardy in obeying the order, that he 
was three weeks reaching Morristown. While on his march he lodged 
one night at a house about three miles from camp, where he was taken 
prisoner by a company of British light-horse. The command of his di- 
vision devolved on General Sullivan, who marched it to the main army. 
Four regiments under General Gates, soon after arrived from Ticonderoga. 
These forces wiih others, joined Washington, after he had crossed the 
Delaware with his army of about three thousand men, which he accom- 
plished on the seventh of December. The enemy did not attempt to cross 
the river, General Howe contenting himself with having overrun New 
Jersey. It was however expected, that, as soon as the ice should become 
sufficiently strong, the enemy would cross the Delaware, and bring all 
their force to bear upon Philadelphia. Anticipating this event, Congress 
adjourned to Baltimore ; and General Putnam who took the command of 
3 



34 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

the militia in Philadelphia, was instructed to prepare for an obstinate de- 
fence of that city. 

In this very dangerous crisis, and which may be considered the most 
gloomy period of the war, Washington made every exertion to procure 
reinforcements. These exertions were in a great measure unavailing, ex- 
cept in and near Philadelphia. Fifteen hundred of the citizens of that 
metropolis marched to the aid of Washington. The American army now 
amounted to about seven thousand men, after the arrival of the forces un- 
der Sullivan and Gates. The two armies were separated from each other 
by the river Delaware. The British in the security of conquest, cantoned 
their troops in Burlington, Bordentown, Trenton, and other towns of New 
Jersey. On receiving information of their numbers and different canton- 
ments, Washington observed — " Now is the time to clip their wings, when 
they are so spread." Yielding to his native spirit of enterprise, which 
had hitherto been repressed, he formed the bold design of recrossing the 
Delaware, and attacking the British posts on its eastern banks.* 

In a letter to Joseph Reed, dated Bristol, Pennsylvania, December 23, 
1776, Washington thus discloses his designs : — 

" Christmas-day, at night, one hour before day, is the time fixed upon 
for our attempt on Trenton ; our numbers, sorry am I to say, being less than 
I had any conception of j but necessity, dire necessity, will, nay must, 
justify an attack." 

The desperate situation of the American cause at this time is thus al- 
luded to by him, in a letter to his brother, John Augustine Washington, 
dated, December 18, 1776: — 

" We were obliged to cross the Delaware with less than three thousand 
men fit for duty ; the enemy's numbers, from the best accounts, exceeding 
ten or twelve thousand men. 

" Since I came on this side, I have been joined by about two thousarrd 
of the city militia, and I understand that some of the country militia are 
on their way ; but we are in a very disaffected part of the province, and, 
between you and me, I think our affairs are in a very bad condition. 

" You can form no idea of the perplexity of my situation. No man, I 
believe, ever had a greater choice of difficulties, and less means to extri- 
cate himself from them. However, under a full conviction of the justice 
of our cause, 1 can not entertain an idea that it will finally sink, though 
it may remain for a time under a cloud." 

In the evening of Christmas-day, General Washington made arrange- 
ments for passing over the Delaware, in three divisions. At Trenton were 
three regiments of Hessians, amounting to about fifteen hundred men, and 
a troop of British light-horse. Small detachments of the British army 
were stationed at Bordentown, Burlington, Black Horse, and Mount Hol- 
ly. General Cadwallader was to cross at Bristol, and attack the latter 

* Ramsay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 35 

posts ; General Ewing was to cross a little below Trenton, to intercept 
the retreat of the enemy in that direction, while the commander-in-chief, 
with twenty-four hundred continental troops, should cross nine miles above 
Trenton, to make the principal attack. But Generals Cadwallader and 
Ewing were unable to pass, from the quantity of floating ice which ob- 
structed the boats. The division commanded by Washington, accompa- 
nied by Generals Greene, Sullivan, Stirling, Mercer, and St. Clair, alone 
succeeded. These troops began to cross early in the evening, but were so 
retarded by ice, that it was nearly four o'clock in the morning of the twenty- 
sixth, before the whole body with the artillery, was landed on the New- 
Jersey bank of the river. They were formed in two divisions, and marched 
by different roads to Trenton, where they arrived within three minutes of 
each other, about eight o'clock in the morning. They met with but slight 
opposition, except from two or three pieces of artillery which were 
soon taken. The surprised Hessians attempted a retreat to Princeton, 
but were intercepted, and, finding themselves surrounded, soon laid 
down their arms and surrendered as prisoners-of-war. Between thirty 
and forty Hessians, among whom was Colonel Rahl, their commander, 
were killed. The American loss was two privates killed, and two others 
frozen to death. Captain William Washington, distinguished at a later 
period of the war as an officer of cavalry, and Lieutenant James Monroe, 
afterward president of the United States, were wounded in taking the ene- 
my's artillery. The number of prisoners was nearly one thousand, and 
the trophies of victory were six brass field-pieces, a thousand stand of 
arms, and considerable ammunition. The British light-horse, and about 
five hundred Hessians, escaped at the beginning of the action and fled to 
Bordentown, where they joined the British and Hessian troops in that vi- 
cinity and all retreated to Princeton ; thus the whole line of the enemy's 
encampments on the Delaware was broken up. It was thought most 
prudent by Washington to recross the Delaware, with all his prisoners 
and military stores, on the same day, which he accomplished the same 
evening, apd gained his encampment on the Pennsylvania side. 

This brilliant exploit of Washington, and unexpected success of the 
continental troops under his command, electrified the American people, 
particularly those of the middle states, who were either desponding or dis- 
affected at the aspect of affairs, before the tables were turned by this for- 
tunate event. The British generals, Howe and Cornwallis, were aston- 
ished and bewildered at this display of vigor on the part of the American 
general. Previous to this affair at Trenton, New Jersey appeared to be 
subdued, Pennsylvania was supposed to be anxious for British pardon, and 
instead of offensive operations, the total dispersion of the small remnant 
of the American army was confidently anticipated. Finding that he was 
contending with an adversary who could never cease to be formidable, 
and that the conquest of America was more distant than had been sup- 



36 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

posed, Gen. Howe determined, in the depth of winter, to commence active 
operations. Lord Cornwallis, who had retired to New York, with the 
intention of embarking for England, returned to New Jersey in great force, 
for the purpose of recovering the ground which had been lost. The British 
army was assembled at Princeton, with the design of making an attack up- 
on the Americans under Washington, who had again crossed the Delaware, 
and taken post at Trenton, determined to act on the offensive, after being 
joined by considerable reinforcements of regulars and militia. 

Lord Cornwallis advanced on the morning of the second of January, 
1777, and his van reached Trenton the same afternoon. On its approach. 
General Washington retired across the creek which runs through the 
town. The British finding the fords of the creek well guarded, desisted 
from attempts to cross, and kindled their fires. The Americans kindled 
their fires likewise, and a cannonade was kept up till dark. 

The situation of General Washington was once more extremely criti- 
cal. The passage of the Delaware was rendered difficult by the ice, and 
if he remained at Trenton, an attack on the following morning, by an oA^er- 
whelming force seemed certain, which must render the destruction of his 
army inevitable. In this embarrassing state of things, he formed the bold 
design of abandoning the Delaware, and marching by a circuitous route 
along the left flank of the British army, into its rear at Princeton ; and, 
after beating the troops at that place, to move rapidly on Bnmswick, 
where the baggage, and principal magazines of the British army lay, un- 
der a weak guard.* 

This plan being approved by a council of war, Washington silently 
withdrew his army from Trenton, favored by the darkness of the night, 
while the enemy were at rest ; leaving a few of his men at work with 
pickaxes, and the camp-fires kindled, for the purpose of deceiving the 
British into the belief that the Americans were throwing up intrenchments. 
Before dawn these men left their work and hastened to join the American 
army who were then on a rapid march toward Princeton, where three 
British regiments had encamped the preceding night. Two of these regi- 
ments commencing their march toward Trenton, early in the morning to 
join the rear of their army, met the Americans, a mile and a half from 
Trenton. The morning being foggy, the enemy at first mistook the Amer- 
icans for Hessians, but the mistake was soon discovered, and a smart 
skirmish ensued. The British commander sent to Princeton for the other 
regiment, which was soon on the spot, and after a battle of more than an 
hour, the American militia gave way in disorder. General Mercer, at- 
tempting to rally them, was mortally wounded. Washington pushed for- 
ward at the head of his division and rallied the flying troops, who encour- 
aged by his example made a stand, and compelled the British to retreat in 
various directions. In the course of the engagement, one hundred of the 

* Marshall. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 37 

enemy were killed and wounded, and about three hundred taken prisoners. 
The rest made their escape ; some by pushing on to Trenton, others by 
returning to Brunswick. The American loss was about one hundred. 

At break of day, Lord Cornwallis perceived, to his great astonishment, 
that the Americans had deserted their camp at Trenton, and at once pene- 
trating the designs of Washington upon New Brunswick, marched hastily 
toward that place to protect his stores there, and was close in the rear of 
the Americans, before they could leave Princeton. General Washington, 
finding bis army exhausted with fatigue and closely pursued by a superior 
force, abandoned the remaining part of his original plan, and took the 
road leading up the country to the north. Lord Cornwallis continued his 
march to Brunswick, and Washington retired to Morristown, where he 
established his headquarters. Having given his army some repose, he 
entered the field' again in an offensive attitude, and in a short time over- 
ran the whole country as far as the Raritan to the south. He also took 
possession of Newark, Elizabethtown, and Woodbridge. The British 
army, meanwhile, was restricting its operations to a small part of New 
Jersey. 

The victories at Trenton and Princeton produced the most extensive 
effects, and had a decided influence on subsequent events. Philadelphia 
was saved for that winter. New Jersey was mostly recovered from the 
enemy, and the drooping spirits of the Americans were revived. Their 
gloomy apprehensions yielded to a confidence in their general and their 
army, and in the ultimate success of their struggles for liberty and inde- 
pendence. 

Gen. Washington had been invested by Congress a few days before 
the successful affair at Trenton, with additional and extraordinary powers 
as commander-in-chief, which additional powers were conferred on him 
for a period of six months, and the wisdom of the measure was soon seen 
and felt by the favorable turn of American affairs. After the recent suc- 
cesses he hoped that his country would have placed at his disposal a large 
and efficient army, to enable him to undertake decisive operations before 
reinforcements to the British army should arrive in the ensuing spring. 
Congress, at his instance passed the requisite resolutions ; but these could 
not be carried into effect, without the aid of the state legislatures. The 
recruiting service was therefore retarded by the delays consequent upon 
the action of thirteen legislative bodies, and Washington with infinite re- 
luctance, was obliged to give up his favorite project of an early active 
campaign. The remainder of the winter season passed over in a light 
war of skirmishes. They were generally in favor of the Americans ; but 
Washington's views were much more extensive ; he cherished hopes of 
being enabled to strike a decisive blow against the British forces during the 
winter, but being disappointed, he went into winter-quarters with the main 
arjiiy, at Morristown. Cantonments were likewise established at various 



38 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF AVASHIXGTON. 

points from Princeton on the right, where General Putnam commanded, 
to the Highlands on the left, which post continued under the charge of 
General Heath. The first care of General Washington, after putting the 
troops in winter-quarters, was drawn to the completion of the army for 
the next campaign ; and he wrote circular letters to the governors of the 
middle and eastern states, urging them to adopt prompt and effectual meth- 
ods for raising recruits, and filling up their regiments. To stimulate the 
activity of the slates, by reiterated representations to their governors and 
legislatures, by argument, persuasion, and appeals to every motive of pride, 
honor, and patriotism, was the task which he was obliged to repeat every 
winter ; and this was a source of increasing anxiety, from the time the 
troops went into winter-quarters, till they again took the field to combat the 
enemy. Congress, embarrassed by the indefinite nature of their powers 
deliberated with caution, and were seldom ready to act in military affairs, 
till incited by the counsels or earnest entreaties of the commander-in- 
chief.* 

As the recruits for the American army were collected, the camp at 
Morristown was broken up, and the army assembled on the twenty-eighth 
of May, 1777, at Middlebrook, in New Jersey, ten miles from Brunswick. 
The exertions made during the winter by the commander-in-chief, to raise 
a powerful army for the ensuing campaign, had not been successful. Ou 
the twentieth of May, the total of the army in New Jersey, excluding 
cavalry and artillery, amounted only to eight thousand, three hundred and 
seventy-eight men, of whom upward of two thousand were sick, and more 
than half were raw recruits. Anticipating a movement of the British ar- 
my toward Philadelphia, Washington had given orders for assembling an 
army of militia, with a few continental troops, on the western bank of the 
Delaware, to be commanded by General Arnold. The primary objects to 
which Washington directed his attention in this campaign, were to en- 
deavor to prevent the British from obtaining possession of Philadelphia, 
or the Highlands on the Hudson river, and he made such an arrangement 
of his troops as would enable him to oppose either. The northern troops 
were divided between Ticonderoga, and Peekskill, .while those from New 
Jersey, and other middle states, were encamped at Middlebrook. 

On the twelfth of June, General Howe assembled the main body of his 
army at Brunswick, in New Jersey, and gave strong indications of an in- 
tention to reach Philadelphia by land. The American army under Wash- 
ington, was now swelled to about fourteen thousand. Howe feigned a 
design to cross the Delaware by making toward that river, but failing to 
draw Washington into a general engagement, by his various manosuvres, 
he withdrew his forces to Araboy, and passed over to Slaten island, leav- 
ing the Americans in quiet possession of New Jersey. Having aban- 
doned the idea of forming a junction with General Burgoyne, who, having 

• Sparks. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 39 

arrived from England with a powerful army, was invading the northern, 
states by way of Canada, General Howe turned his attention toward Phil- 
adelphia. He resolved to proceed to that city by way of the Chesapeake 
bay, and accordingly embarked at Staten island, with about eighteen thou- 
sand troops, on board of the British fleet under Lord Howe. He left Gen- 
eral Sir Henry Clinton, with a large force to defend New York, and in 
the latter part of July appeared off the capes of Delaware ; but the fleet 
suddenly again put to sea, and its destination was for some time a matter 
of micertainty to the Americans. In the meanwhile, Washington marched 
the main body of his army to Germantown, to await certain information 
respecting the movements of General Howe. During his suspense, he 
took an opportunity of conferring with committees of Congress, at Phila- 
delphia, and it was at this time that he had his first interview with the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette, on his arrival from France, to off'er his services to the 
Americans. Congress appointed the marquis a major-general in the ar- 
my, and he was invited by General Washington to become a member of 
his military family, which position he maintained during the war. 

The British fleet having sailed up the Chesapeake, reached Elk river 
on the twenty-fifth of August, where the troops, under Gen. Howe were 
landed, and commenced their march toward Philadelphia. The day be- 
fore the landing of the British, the American army marched through Phil- 
adelphia, toward Wilmington, in Delaware. Advance parties from each 
army soon met, and several skirmishes took place. 

As the British army approached, Washington took post on the river 
Brandywine, and awaited the attack of the enemy. A general action took 
place early on the eleventh of September, which continued all day, and 
terminated in favor of the British, who remained in possession of the field 
of battle, while the Americans retreated to Chester, and the following day 
to Philadelphia. 

The British force in this engagement, was stated at about eighteen thou- 
sand ; that of the Americans a little over eleven thousand. The American 
loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was over a thousand ; that of the 
British was less than six hundred. 

Washington made every exertion to repair the loss which had been sus- 
tained. The battle of Brandywine was represented as not being decis- 
ive. Congress and the people wished to hazard a second engagement, for 
the security of Philadelphia ; General Howe sought for it, and Washington 
did not decline it. He therefore advanced on the Lancaster road, with 
an intention of meeting the British army. Both armies were on the point 
of engaging, but were prevented by a violent storm. When the rain 
ceased, the Americans finding that their ammunition was ruined, withdrew 
to a place of safety. The British instead of urging an action, afterward 
began to march toward Reading. To save the stores at that place, Wash- 
ington took a new position, and left the British in undisturbed possession 



40 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

of the roads which led to Philadelphia. His troops were worn down 
with a succession of severe duties. There were in his army above a 
thousand men who were barefooted, and who had performed all their late 
movements in that condition. 

Though Washington had failed in his object of saving Philadelphia, 
yet he retained the confidence of Congress and the states. With an ar- 
my inferior in numbers, discipline, and equipments, he had delayed the 
British army thirty days in advancing sixty miles through an open country, 
without fortifications. 

The British army entered Philadelphia, on the twenty-sixth of Septem- 
ber, and pushed forward to Germantown. Congress had previously ad- 
journed to Lancaster. While the British camp at Germantown was weak- 
ened by detachments sent against the American forts on the Delaware, 
Gen. Washington, having received considerable reinforcements to his ar- 
my, resolved to attack the enemy in their encampment. Accordingly, in 
the evening of the third of October, the Americans advanced in four divis- 
ions, and after a march of fourteen miles to Germantown, at daybreak the 
next morning took the British by surprise. A battle commenced, and for a 
time victory seemed to incline to the Americans ; but finally, after a severe 
action, they were repulsed with great slaughter, losing about eleven hun- 
dred men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The British loss was not 
more than half that number. General Howe shortly after evacuated Ger- 
mantown, and concentrated his forces at Philadelphia, where the British 
army under his command took up their winter-quarters. Howe at first 
directed his attention to the opening of the navigation of the Delaware 
river, which had been obstructed by many ingenious contrivances placed 
there by the Americans. This task employed the British for more than 
six weeks ; and after a great display of gallantry on both sides, it was 
finally accomplished. 

When the Delaware was cleared, and there was a free inland commu- 
nication for the British between Philadelphia and New York, Gen. Howe 
determined to close the campaign by an attack upon Washington, then 
stationed at Whitemarsh, about eleven miles from Philadelphia. On the 
night of the fourth of December, Howe marched out of the city and took 
post upon Chestnut Hill, in front of the American army, which had been 
rei.iiorced by detachments from the northern army. Finding Washing- 
ton's position too strong to risk a general attack, after a few days' skirmish- 
ing, Howe fell back upon Philadelphia. 

While the British arms were successful on the banks of the Delaware, 
intelligence arrived that General Burgoyne and the British army of the 
norfh, had surrendered prisoners-of-war, to the American northern army 
under General Gates. This event took place at Saratoga, in the state of 
New i o.. on the seventeenth of October. On the receipt of this im- 
portant information, General Washington took measures to obtain large 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 41 

reinforcements to the forces under his immediate command, from tlte vic- 
torious troops of the north. He therefore deputed one of his aids, Colo- 
nel Alexander Hamilton, to wait on General Gates, and communicate his 
wishes to that officer. In his letter of instructions to Hamilton, General 
Washington writes as follows, under date of October 30, 1777 : — 

" It has been judged expedient by the members of a council of war 
held yesterday, that one of the gentlemen of my family should be sent to 
General Gates, in order to lay before him the state of this army, and the 
situation of the enemy, and to point out to him the many happy conse- 
quences that will accrue from an immediate reinforcement being sent from 
the northern army. 1 have thought proper to appoint you to that duty, and 
desire that you will immediately set out for Albany. 

*' What you are chiefly to attend to is, to point out to General Gates the 
absolute necessity that there is for his detaching a very considerable part 
of the army, at present under his command, to the reinforcement of this ; 
a measure that will, in all probability, reduce General Howe to the same 
situation in which General Burgoyne now is, should he attempt to remain 
in Philadelphia. 

" I have understood that General Gates has already detached Nixon's 
and Glover's brigades to join General Putnam.* If this be a fact, you 
are to desire General Putnam, to send the two brigades forward with the 
greatest expedition, as there can be no occasion for them there." 

To the president of Congress, Washington also wrote on the first of 
November as follows : " I can not conceive that there is any object, now 
remaining, that demands our attention and most vigorous efforts so much as 
the destruction of the [British] army in this quarter. Should we be able 
to effect this, we shall have little to fear in future." And on the seven- 
teenth of November, he wrote to the same functionary thus : " I am anx- 
iously waiting the arrival of the troops from the northward, who ought to 
have been here before this. The want of these troops has embarrassed 
all my measures exceedingly." 

Instead of promptly seconding the desires of Washington, when com 
municated to them by Hamilton, Generals Gates and Putnam were un- 
willing to part with a sufficient number of the troops under their respec- 
tive commands to effect the object designed. The former general was 
then contemplating an expedition to Ticonderoga, and the latter an attack 
on the British forces in New York. After considerable delay, those gen- 
erals, at the urgent request of Colonel Hamilton, finally sent on about five 
thousand men to the aid of General Washington ; but in the meantime, 
Sir Henry Clinton, who commanded the British forces stationed at the 
city of New York, detached about six thousand men to the aid of General 
Howe in Philadelphia. 

Thus, will it be seen, that the well-formed plans of General Washing- 
* General Putnam then commanded the troops on the Hudson river, below the Highlands. 



42 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

ton, to follow up the capture of the British army under Burgoyne, by that 
of the forces under Howe, were frustrated by the want of cordial co- 
operation on the part of Gates and Putnam. Had Washington succeeded 
by their prompt aid in effecting his purposes at Philadelphia, he would 
doubtless have moved upon New York, and by an attack upon that city, 
with the whole American forces, have either compelled the surrender of 
the forces under Sir Henry Clinton, or the evacuation by them of that 
point; and thus the campaign of 1777 would have been closed by a suc- 
cession of American victories and British reverses, from which the latter 
could not have recovered. Is it too much to say, that in that event. Great 
Britain would have sought for peace in 1778, as she did afterward in 1782, 
and that the American alliance with France, would have thus been ren- 
dered unnecessary ? This view is confirmed by the correspondence of 
Washington, who evidently was of opinion that a protracted war for years 
was unnecessary. In a letter to John Parke Custis, dated, February 28, 
1781, more than three years after the fall of Philadelphia, he says, " We 
have brought a cause, Avhich might have been happily terminated years ago 
by the adoption of proper measures, to the very verge of ruin," &c. 

The following extract of a letter from Washington to Patrick Henry, 
dated November 13, 1777, soon after the British had entered Philadelphia, 
throws farther light upon the state of affairs at this period ; and shows 
particularly that Washington's army had been weakened by reinforcements 
sent to the aid of General Gates. 

" I was left to fight two battles, in order if possible to save Philadel- 
phia, with less numbers than composed the army of my antagonist, while 
the world has given us double. 

" How different is the case in the northern department. There the 
states of New York and New England, resolving to crush Burgoyne, 
continued pouring in their troops till the surrender of that army. Had the 
same spirit pervaded the people of this and the neighboring states, we 
might before this time have had General Howe nearly in the situation of 
General Burgoyne. 

" My own difficulties in the course of the campaign have been not a 
little increased by the extra aid of continental troops which the gloomy 
prospect of our affairs, immediately after the reduction of Ticonderoga,* 
induced me to spare from this army." 

The campaign of 1777 having closed, Washington communicated in 
general orders his intention of retiring with his army into winter-quar- 
ters. He expressed to his officers and soldiers his high approbation of 
their past conduct ; gave an encouraging statement of the prospects of 
the country, and exhorted the men to bear the hardships inseparable 
from their condition. Valley Forge, about twenty miles northwest from 
Philadelphia, was selected by Washington for the winter-quarters of the 
* Ticonderoga was taken by Burgoyne, on the 5th of July, 1777. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 43 

army. This position was preferred to distant and more comfortable villa- 
ges, as being calculated to give security to the country from the enemy. 
In the latter end of December, the troops were compelled to build huts 
for their own accommodation, and during the winter, which was unusual- 
ly severe, their sufferings were great, from want of both clothing and 
food, Washington was compelled to make seizures from the inhabitants, as 
he was authorized by Congress to do, for the sustenance of his army. 
The commander-in-chief and his principal officers sent for their wives, 
from the different states to which they belonged, to pass the winter with 
their husbands at headquarters. 

To the other vexations and troubles which crowded on General Wash- 
ington at this time, was added one of a peculiar nature. This was the 
formation of a cabal among members of Congress, and a few officers in 
the northern division of the army, the object of which was to supersede 
him in the command of the army, or to induce his resignation. This in- 
trigue is known in American history under the name of Conway's cabal. 
Generals Gates, Mifflin, and Conway, are the only officers of note who 
were known to have been engaged in it. The former of these generals 
was proposed to supersede Washington. About the same time a board 
of war was created by Congress, of which General Gates was appoint- 
ed president. 

These machinations did not abate the ardor of Washington in the com- 
mon cause. His patriotism was too solid to be shaken, either by envy or 
ingratitude. Nor was the smallest effect produced in diminishing his well- 
earned reputation. Zeal the most active, and services the most beneficial, 
and at the same time disinterested, had riveted him in the aflfections of his 
country and the army. Even the victorious troops under Gen. Gates, though 
comparisons highly flattering to their vanity, had been made between them 
and the army in Pennsylvania, clung to Washington as their political sav- 
ior. The resentment of the people was generally excited against those 
who were supposed to be engaged in, or friendly to, the scheme of ap- 
pointing a new commander-in-chief over the American army.* 

The suff'erings of the army while encamped at Valley Forge, are mem- 
morable in the history of the war. They were not only greatly in want 
of the necessary supplies of food, but of blankets and clothing. " Naked 
and starving as they are," says Washington in one of his letters, " we 
can not enough admire the incomparable patience and fidelity of the sol- 
diery, that they have not been ere this excited by their sufferings, to a 
general mutiny and desertion." Although the officers were better provi- 
ded than the soldiers, yet none were exempt from privations and hardships. 

When the encampment was begun at Valley Forge, the whole number 
of men in the field was 11,098, of whom 2,898, were unfit for duty, " being 
barefoot and otherwise naked." Much of the suffering of the army was 

* Ramsay. 



44 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

attributed to mismanagement in the quartermaster's department ; while 
reforms on this subject were proposed in Congress, the distresses of the 
troops approached their acme. General Washington found it necessary 
to interpose his personal exertions to procure provisions from a distance. 
In a few days the army was rescued from the famine with which it had 
been threatened. It was perceived that the difficulties which had oc- 
curred, were occasioned more by the want of due exertion in the commis- 
sary department, and by the efforts of the people to save their stock for a 
better market, than by a real deficiency of food in the country. 

The impression made on the British nation by the capitulation of Bur- 
goyne, at length made its way into the cabinet, and Lord North brought 
into parliament two bills, which were adopted, having conciliation for their 
object. The first surrendered the principle of taxation, and the second 
empowered the crown to appoint commissioners to treat for peace with 
the United States. This movement was prompted by the apprehension 
that France would acknowledge the independence of America, and join 
in the war against England. 

The terms held out by these bills were such as would have been ac- 
cepted by the Americans in the early stages of the controversy, but they 
now came too late. It was no part of the plan of the British ministers 
to treat with the American states as an independent power. They were 
to go back to their old condition as colonies, favored with certain privi- 
leges ; but having declared their independence, and shed their blood, and 
expended their means to sustain it, these new offers of the British govern- 
ment were not likely to gain the confidence or change the sentiments of 
those who had taken the lead in the cause of American liberty. Wash- 
ington, in a letter to a member of Congress, after he had learned the pur- 
port of the conciliatory bills, expresses himself thus : " Nothing short of 
independence, it appears to me, can possibly do. A peace on other terms 
would, if I may be allowed the expression, be a peace of war. The in- 
juries we have received from the British nation were so unprovoked, and 
have been so great and so many, that they can never be forgotten. Our 
fidelity as a people, our gratitude, our character as men, are opposed to a 
coalition with them as subjects, but in case of the last extremity." The 
subject appeared in the same light to Congress, and they unanimously re- 
solved, that no advances on the part of the British government would be 
met, unless, as a preliminary step, they either withdrew their armies and 
fleets, or acknowledged, unequivocally, the independence of the United 
States. 

On the second of May, 1778, ten days after Congress had passed their 
resolves respecting Lord North's bill of conciliation, a messenger arrived 
in the United States, bearing treaties of amity, commerce, and aUiance, 
between France and America, signed at Paris, on the sixth of February, 
1778, by which the independence of the United States was formally ac- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 45 

knowledged by the former power. This intelligence was received with 
joy by the Americans, and the army participated in the rejoicings of the 
people on the occasion, and a day was set apart by the commander-in- 
chief for a public celebration in camp. 

The British kept possession of Philadelphia through the winter and the 
spring following ; and although Washington's camp was within twenty 
miles of the city, yet no enterprise was undertaken to molest him in his 
quarters. Foraging parties were sent out, and committed depredations on 
the inhabitants ; but they were watched by the Americans, Avho some- 
times met them in fierce and bloody rencontres. The British army in 
New York and Philadelphia, amounted to nearly thirty thousand, of which 
number 19,500 were in Philadelphia, and 10,400 in New York. There 
were besides 3,700 at Rhode Island. The American army on the eighth 
of May, 1778, did not exceed 15,000 men, including the detachments on 
the North river, and at other places. The number at Valley Forge was 
11,800. The new establishment agreed upon by a committee of Con- 
gress at Valley Forge, was to consist of forty thousand continental troops, 
besides artillery and horse ; but it was not supposed by a council of war, 
held on the eighth of May, that it could soon be raised higher than twenty 
thousand effective men, while the British army in the middle and eastern 
states, amounted, as above stated, to upward of thirty-three thousand.* 

Sir William Howe, having at his own request been recalled, resigned 
the command of the British army to Sir Henry Clinton, and embarked for 
England. About the same time, orders were received for the evacuation 
of Philadelphia, The great naval force of France rendered that city a 
dangerous position, and determined the British cabinet to withdraw their 
army from the Delaware. 

On the morning of the eighteenth of June, Philadelphia was evacuated 
by the British army, which crossed the Delaware, and landed on Glouces- 
ter point. Their line extended nearly twelve miles, and as they were encum- 
bered with numerous wagons, and compelled to stop and build bridges 
over the streams in their route, their progress was slow. It was the first 
purpose of Sir Henry Clinton to proceed to the Raritan, and embark his 
troops at Brunswick, or South Amboy, for New York, but finding Wash- 
ington with his army in motion in that direction, he turned to the right and 
took the road leading to Monmouth and Sandy Hook. 

A council of war, called by Washington, to discuss the best mode of 
attacking the enemy on their march, was divided in opinion. Gen. Lee 
and others advising to avoid a general battle, but to harass the enemy up- 
on flank and rear. Washington determined to act according to his own 
judgment, and sent forward a detachment to commence an attack, while 
he with the rest of the army followed to support the advance corps. Sir 
Henry Clinton, with the British army encamped near Monmouth court- 

* Sparks. 



46 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

house, whence they commenced their march on the twenty-eighth of June, 
and were attacked by the Americans. The battle became general, and 
lasted till night, when both armies remained on the field. The British 
troops withdrew during the night, and soon after proceeded to Sandy Hook, 
where they embarked on board a fleet for New York. 

The battle of Monmouth, although favorable to the Americans, was not 
a decided victory ; yet Congress viewed it somewhat in that light, and 
passed a vote of thanks to the commander-in-chief and the army. The 
American loss was sixty-nine killed, while the British loss was much 
greater, being nearly three hundred. On their march through New Jer- 
sey, the British army lost by battle, captured as prisoners, and desertion, 
more than twelve hundred men. The conduct of General Lee, at the 
battle of Monmouth, in ordering a hasty retreat of his detachment and 
otherwise, was severely censured by Washington ; he was consequently 
tried by a court-martial, found guilty of the charges against him, and sus- 
pended from his command for one year. He left the service, and died 
four years afterward, in Philadelphia. 

After the action at Monmouth, General Washington marched with his 
army to the Hudson river, which he crossed, and encamped at White 
Plains, about twenty-five miles north of the city of New York. Before 
crossing the river, he heard of the arrival on the coast of a French fleet, 
under Count d'Estaing, consisting of twelve ships-of-the-line and four 
frigates. No time was lost by the American general in sending a letter 
of congratulation to the French admiral, and proposing to co-operate with 
him, in plans for attacking the enemy. It was at first proposed to attack 
New York, by land and water ; but the scheme was abandoned, and the 
French squadron sailed for Rhode Island, to attack the British forces there, 
chiefly in garrison at Newport. Various causes conspired to the failure 
of this expedition, by defeating the combined action of the land and naval 
forces. After leaving Newport, the French fleet was crippled by a storm 
and engagement at sea, and put into the harbor of Boston to refit, where 
they remained until November. 

The American army was employed in various operations in the northern 
and eastern states, during the campaign of 1778, to guard against an ap- 
prehended attack by the British on Boston, or some other point at the 
eastward ; but it was finally ascertained that the enemy had no design in 
that direction. Washington established his headquarters at Fredericks- 
burg, thirty miles from West Point, on the borders of Connecticut, and at. 
the close of the campaign put his army in winter-quarters at West Point 
and at several other places, his headquarters being at Middlebrook, in 
New Jersey. 

Notwithstanding the flattering prospects which the alliance with France 
held out for the American cause. General Washington at this time had 
many causes of anxiety which oppressed him, and filled his mind with 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 47 

the most gloomy feelings. Among the most prominent subjects of anxiety 
and apprehension, he viewed that of the apathy and dissensions among 
members of Congress with alarm. The men of talent who had taken the 
lead in Congress, in the early period of the war, had gradually withdrawn 
from that body, until it had become small in numbers and comparatively 
feeble in counsels and resources. At no time were private jealousies and 
party feuds more rife or mischievous in their effects. 

To those in whom he had confidence, Washington laid open his fears, 
and endeavored to awaken a sense of the public danger. To Benjamin 
Harrison, of Virginia, he thus writes, on the 30th of December, 1778 : 
" I confess to you that I fee] more real distress on account of the present 
appearances of things, than I have done at any one time since the com- 
mencement of the dispute. But Providence has heretofore taken us up, 
when all other means and hope seemed to be departing from us. In this 
I will confide." 

A project for conquering Canada was at this time entertained in Con- 
gress ; but Washington, being requested to communicate his sentiments 
on the subject, replied in a long letter to Congress, showing that the 
plan was impracticable, requiring resources in troops and money which 
were not to be had ; also, that there were political reasons why it would 
be against the future interests of the United States for Canada to be re- 
stored to France, as would probably be the case if conquered by the allied 
forces of France and America. He afterward, in December, 1777, vis- 
ited Philadelphia ; and on a more full discussion of the subject with a 
committee of Congress, the Canada scheme was given up. The French 
government was also decidedly opposed to it, and it was the policy of that 
court that Canada and Nova Scotia should remain in the power of Great 
Britain.* 

The winter and spring of 1779 passed away without the occurrence 
of any remarkable event. The British remained within their lines at 
New York, apparently making no preparation for any enterprise of mag- 
nitude. General Washington, in the meantime, turned his attention to the 
fitting out of an expedition against the hostile Indians in the state of New 
York. General Sullivan was despatched with a large force to the Sus- 
quehannah river, and was completely successful in subduing the Indians. 

Washington removed his headquarters to New Windsor, a few miles 
above West Point, distributing his army chiefly in and near the highlands 
of the Hudson river, but stationing a force below, to check any sudden 
incursion of the enemy. Washington at this time resolved upon an attack 
on the strong British post at Stony Point, on the Hudson river, and in- 
trusted the enterprise to General Wayne. That officer stormed the works 
on the night of the loth of July, with a body of picked men, and the as- 
sault was successful in all its parts. The number of prisoners captured 



48 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

by the Americans was 543, and the number killed on the side of the British 
was 63 ; while the American loss was 15 killed, and 83 wounded. 

The campaign of 1779 having terminated, the American army went into 
winter-quarters ; the main body in the neighborhood of Morristown, in 
New Jersey, and various detachments on the Hudson river and in Con- 
necticut. The headquarters of Washington were at Morristown. A de- 
scent upon Stat'- .1 island by a party of Americans under Lord Stirling, a 
retaliatory iucur ;on of the enemy into New Jersey, and a skirmish near 
White Plairfs, vere the only military events during the winter. 

In April, 1780, the marquis de Lafayette arrived at Boston from France, 
with the cherring intelligence that the French government had fitted out 
an armament of naval and land forces, which might soon be expected in 
the United States. On the 10th of July, the French fleet arrived at New- 
port, in Rhode Island. The armament consisted of seven or eight ships- 
of-the-line, two frigates, two bombs, and upward of five thousand men. 
The fleet was commanded by De Ternay, and the army by Count de 
Rochambeau. The general and troops were directed by the French gov- 
ernment to be in all cases under the command of General Washington. 

Having a decided naval superiority, the British fleet, under Admiral 
Arbuthnot, blockaded the French squadron in the harbor of Newport, and 
Rochambeau's army was obliged to remain there for its protection. This 
state of th'.igs continued through the season, and no military enterprise 
was undertaken. Both parties stood on the defensive, watching each 
other's motions, and depending on the operations of the British and 
French fleets. General Washington encamped on the west side of the 
Hudson, below Orangetown, or Tappan, on the borders of New Jersey, 
which station he held till winter. 

A conference was held between the commanders of the two allied 
armies, being suggested by Rochambeau, and readily assented to by 
Washington. They met at Hartford, in Connecticut, on the 21st of Sep- 
tember. During the absence of General Washington, the army was left 
under the command of General Greene. No definite plan of operations 
could be agreed upon between the American and French commanders, as 
a naval superiority was essential to any effectual enterprise by land, and 
the French fleet was inferior to that of the British naval force on the 
American station. 

At this time. General Arnold held the command at West Point, and other 
fortified posts on the Hudson river, in the highlands. On Washington's 
return to West Point from the conference with the French commander at 
Hartford, he was filled with astonishment at the discovery of a plot which 
had been formed between General Arnold and Sir Henry Clinton, to de- 
liver up the American post to the enemy — the agent employed by the 
British general being Major John Andre, adjutant-general in the British 
army. On the detection of his treachery, Arnold fled to a British sloop- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 49 

of-war in the Hudson river, immediately after the arrival of Washington 
at West Point, on the 25th of September. Major Andre had been taken 
by the Americans, and was soon after removed to the headquarters of the 
army at Tappan. 

On discovering the treason of Arnold, Washington took immediate 
measures to secure the posts. Orders were despatched to all the princi- 
pal officers, and every precaution was taken. It was soon ascertained by 
Washington that no other officer in the American army was implicated in 
the conspiracy of Arnold ; and he forthwith ordered a court of inquiry, 
consisting of a board of general officers, for the trial of Major Andre. 
Various papers were laid before the board, which met on the twenty-ninth 
of September, and Andre himself "was questioned and desired to make 
such statements and explanations as he chose. After a full investigation, 
the board reported the essential facts which had appeared, with their 
opinion that he was a spy and ought to suffer death. General Washing- 
ton approved this decision, and Major Andre was executed at Tappan, on 
the second of October. He met his fate with composure and dignity. 

While Andre's case was pending, Sir Henry Clinton used every effort 
in his power to rescue him from his fate. He wrote to General Wash- 
ington, and endeavored to show that he could not be regarded as a spy, 
inasmuch as he came on shore at the request of an American general, and 
afterward acted by his direction. Connected with all the circumstances, 
this argument could have no weight. There was no stronger trait in the 
character of Washington than humanity ; the misfortunes and sufferings 
of others touched him keenly ; and his feelings were deeply moved at the 
part he was compelled to act, in consenting to the death of Andre ; yet, 
justice to the office he held, and to the cause for which his countrymen 
were shedding their blood, left him no alternative.* 

While these operations were going on at the north, all the intelligence 
from the southern states showed that the American cause was in a gloomy 
condition in that quarter. The British forces under Lord Cornwallis were 
overrunning the Carolinas, and preparations were making in New York to 
detach a squadron with troops to fall upon Virginia. The city of Charles- 
ton had been taken by the British in May, 1780, and the American army 
of six thousand, under General Lincoln, stationed there, surrendered pris- 
oners-of-war. The defeat of General Gates near Camden, in South Car- 
olina, in August, was a heavy blow to the Americans. Congress re- 
quested General Washington to appoint an officer to succeed Gates in the 
command of the southern army. With his usual discrimination and judg- 
ment, he selected General Greene, who repaired to the theatre of action, 
in Avhich he was so eminently distinguished during the subsequent years 
of the war. 

Congress at length adopted the important measures, in regard to the 
4 * Sparks. 



50 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

army which Washington had earnestly and repeatedly advised. They 
decreed that all the troops thenceforward to be raised, should be enlisted 
to serve during the war ; and that all the officers who continued in the 
service to the end of the war, should be entitled to half-pay for life. 
Washington ever believed, that, if this system had been pursued from the 
beginning, it would have shortened the war, or at least have caused a 
great diminution of the expense. Unfortunately the states did not comply 
with the former part of the requisition, but adhered to the old method of 
filling up their quotas with men raised for three years, and for shorter 
terms. The extreme difficulty of procuring recruits, was the reason as- 
signed for persevering in this practice. 

The army went into winter-quarters at the end of November ; the Penn- 
sylvania line near Morristown, the New Jersey regiments at Pompton, and 
the eastern troops in the Highlands. The headquarters of the commander- 
in-chief were at New Windsor, on the Hudson river. The French army 
remained at Newport, Rhode Island, except the duke de Lauzun's legion, 
which was cantoned at Lebanon, in Connecticut.* 

Washington felt with infinite regret, the succession Of abortive projects 
throughout the campaign of 1780. In that year he had indulged the hope 
of terminating the war. In a letter to a friend, he wrote as follows : "We 
are now drawing to a close an inactive campaign, the beginning of which 
appeared pregnant with events of a very favorable complexion. I hoped, 
but I hoped in vain, that a prospect was opening which would enable me 

to fix a period to my military pursuits, and restore me to domestic life." 

# #** *** ***** 

" But alas ! these prospects, flattering as they were, have proved delu- 
sory ; and I see nothing before us but accumulating distress. We have 
been half of our time without provisions, and are likely to continue so. 
We have no magazines, nor money to form them. We have lived upon 
expedients until we can live no longer. In a word, the history of the war 
is a history of false hopes and temporary devices, instead of system and 
economy. It is in vain, however, to look back ; nor is it our business to 
do so. Our case is not desperate, if virtue exists in the people, and there 
is wisdom among our rulers. But to suppose that this great revolution 
can be accomplished by a temporary army, that this army will be sub- 
sisted by state supplies, and that taxation alone is adequate to our wants, 
is, in my opinion, absurd." 

A dangerous mutiny broke out in January, 1781, among the Pennsylvania 
troops stationed near Morristown, which was suppressed by the prudence 
and good management of Gen. Wayne, acting under the advice of Wash- 
ington, and aided by a committee of Congress. The latter proposed terms 
to the revolters, which were accepted. This mutiny was followed by a 
similar revolt of the New Jersey troops, which was promptly put down 

* Sparks. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 51 

hy an armed force under Gen. Howe, by direction of Washington. Two 
of the ringleaders were tried by a court-martial and shot. By this sum- 
mary proceeding, the spirit of mutiny in the army was subdued 

Colonel John Laurens, having been appointed on a mission to France, 
to obtain a loan and military supplies, Washington wrote a letter to that 
gentleman, in support of the application of Congress, which was first 
presented by the commissioner to Dr. Franklin, and afterward laid before 
the French king and cabinet. The French government having determined 
to grant the aid requested, previous to the arrival of Colonel Laurens, sug- 
gested that the money to be appropriated for the army, should be left at 
the disposal of General Washington. 

On the first of May, 1781, Gen. Washington commenced a military 
journal, from which the following is an extract : " I begin at this epoch 
a concise journal of military transactions, &c. I lament not having at- 
tempted it from the commencement of the war, in aid of my memory ; and 
wish the multiplicity of matter which continually surrounds me, and the 
embarrassed state of our affairs, which is momentarily calling the atten- 
tion to perplexities of one kind or another, may not defeat altogether, or 
so interrupt my present intention and plans, as to render it of little avail." 

After briefly sketching the wants and condition of the army at the time, 
he adds ; " In a word, instead of having anything in readiness to take the 
field, we have nothing ; and instead of having the prospect of a glorious 
and offensive campaign before us, we have a bewildered and gloomy pros- 
pect of a defensive one ; unless we should receive a powerful aid of ships, 
troops, and money, from our generous allies, and these at present are 
too contingent to build upon." 

While the Americans were suffering the complicated calamities which 
introduced the year 1781, their adversaries were carrying on the most ex- 
tensive plan of operations against them which had ever been attempted. 
The war raged in that year, not only in the vicinity of the British head- 
quarters at New York, but in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, 
and in Virginia. 

While the war raged in Virginia, the governor thereof, its representa- 
tives in Congress, and other influential citizens, urged his return, in defence 
of his native state. But, considering America as his country, and the gen- 
eral safety as his object, he deemed it of more importance to remain on the 
Hudson. In Washington's disregard of property, when in competition 
with national objects, he was in no respect partial to his own. While the 
British were in the Potomac, they sent a flag on shore to his estate at 
Mount Vernon requiring a fresh supply of provisions. To save the build- 
ings from destruction his agent granted the supply of provisions required 
by the enemy. For this he received a severe reprimand from the gen- 
eral, who in a letter to the agent observed, that " it would have been a 
less painful circumstance to me to have heard, that in consequence of your 



52 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

noncompliance with the request of the British, they had burnt my house, 
and laid my plantation in ruins. You ought to have considered yourself 
as my representative, and should have reflected on the bad example of 
communicating with the enemy, and making a voluntary offer of refresh- 
ment to them, with a view to prevent a conflagration." 

Though, in conducting the war, General Washington often acted on the 
Fabian system, by evacuating, retreating, and avoiding decisive engage- 
ments, yet this was much more the result of necessity than of choice. 
His uniform opinion was in favor of energetic offensive operations, as the 
most effectual means of bringing the war to a termination. On this prin- 
ciple he planned attacks, in almost every year, on some one or other of 
the British armies or strong posts in the United States. He endeavored, 
from year to year, to stimulate the public mind to some great operation, 
but was never properly supported. In the years 1778, '79, and '80, the 
projected operations with the French, as has been related, entirely mis- 
carried. The idea of ending the war by some decisive military exploit, 
continually occupied his active mind. To insure success, a naval supe- 
riority on the coast, and a loan of money, were indispensably necessary. 
To obtain these necessary aids, the French government were applied to, 
as already stated. His most Christian majesty (Louis XVI.) gave his 
American allies a subsidy of six millions of livres, and became their se- 
curity for ten millions more, borrowed in Holland. A naval co-operation 
was promised, and a conjunct expedition against their common foes pro- 
jected.* 

To mature the plan for the campaign, and lo communicate personally 
with the French commanders. General Washington made a journey to 
Newport. He left headquarters on the second of March, and was absent 
nearly three weeks. The citizens of Newport received him with a public 
address, expressive of their attachment and gratitude for his services. A 
second meeting for consultation took place between the American and 
French commanders, at Wethersfield, in Connecticut, on the twenty- 
second of May. The two principal objects considered were, first, a 
southern expedition to act against the enemy in Virginia ; secondly, a 
combined attack on New York, The French commander leaned to the 
former, but he yielded to the stronger reasons for the latter, which was 
decidedly preferred by General Washington. It was believed that Sir 
Henry Clinton's force in New York had been so much weakened by de- 
tachments, that the British general would be compelled either to sacrifice 
that place and its dependencies, or recall part of his troops from the south 
to defend them. 

It was therefore agreed that Count de Rochambeau should march with 
the French army, as soon as possible, from Newport, and form a junction 
with the American army near the Hudson river. 

* Ramsay. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 53 

The attention of Washington was but partially taken up with the affairs 
under his own eye. He held a constant correspondence with Generals 
Greene and Lafayette, who kept him informed of the operations at the 
south, and asked his advice and directions. Other sections of the coun- 
try, also, required and received his care and attention. 

On the sixth of July, the French army formed a junction with the 
American forces on the Hudson, a few miles north of the city of New 
York. The French army, which had marched in four divisions from 
Providence, by way of Hartford, occupied the left, in a single line extend- 
ing to the river Bronx. The Americans encamped in two lines, with their 
right resting on the Hudson. 

Preparations were made for an attack on New York, and Washington 
pushed forward with the main army to within four miles of King's bridge, 
but finally fell back to Dobb's ferry, at which place the two armies contin- 
ued six weeks. The American commander, observing how tardily his call 
on the respectiv^e states for troops was responded to, resolved not to make 
an attack until the arrival of the French fleet, under Count de Grasse, 
from the West Indies, then daily expected. At length, in August, he re- 
ceived a letter from De Grasse, informing him that he was about to sail 
with his whole fleet, and 3,200 land troops, for the Chesapeake. Wash- 
ington at once resolved 10 abandon the project of an attack upon New 
York, and, with the cordial co-operation of Count de Rochambeau, pro- 
ceeded without delay toward Virginia, with the whole of the French army, 
and as many Americans as could be spared from the posts on the Hudson. 
Washington and De Rochambeau preceded the army, and reached Lafay- 
ette's headquarters, at Williamsburg, Virginia, on the fourteenth of Sep- 
tember, where, soon after, the whole army arrived. On his way, Wash- 
ington made a flying visit to his seat at Mount Vernon, for the first time 
in six years, so completely had he devoted himself to the service of his 
country. 

The French fleet under Count de Grasse, consisting of twenty-six 
ships-of-the-line and several frigates, entered the Chesapeake, where they 
were joined by the French squadron from Newport. Three thousand 
troops, under the marquis de St. Simon, disembarked from the French 
fleet, ascended the James river, and joined the allied armies at Williams- 
burg. The whole combined forces then took up their line of march for 
Yorktown, where the British army, under Lord Cornwallis, was entrenched ; 
having erected strong fortifications at that place, and at Gloucester point, 
on the opposite shore. 

On the thirtieth of September, the allied armies completely invested 
Yorktown, the Americans being on the right, and the French on the left, 
in a semicircular line, each wing resting on York river. The post at 
Gloucester was invested by part of the French army and marines, with 
some Virginia militia. On the ninth and tenth of October, the Americans 



54 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF iVASHINGTOX. 

and French opened their batteries, and destroyed an English frigate and 
transport in the harbor. The siege lasted seventeen days, and was vigor- 
ously kept up, when, on the seventeenth of October, Lord Cornwallis pro- 
posed a cessation of hostilities, and the appointment of a commission to 
conclude upon terms for surrendering the posts of Yorklown and Glouces- 
ter. The proposition was accepted by General Washington, commission- 
ers appointed, terms of surrender settled ; and the articles were signed on 
the nineteenth of October, 1781. 

On the afternoon of the day on which the capitulation was signed, the 
garrison marched out, and laid down their arms. The soldiers were sur- 
rendered to Washington, and the shipping in the harbor to the count de 
Grasse. The number of prisoners was over seven thousand. The Brit- 
ish lost, during the siege, between five and six hundred killed ; the Amer- 
icans about three hundred. The allied army consisted of about seven 
thousand American continental troops, five thousand French, and four 
thousand militia. The British force was only about half that of the allies ; 
and doubtless Lord Cornwallis would have abandoned Yorktown before 
its investment, had he not confidently expected reinforcements from New 
York. On the very day of the surrender of Cornwallis, Sir Henry Clinton 
left' New York with seven thousand men, on board of a fleet, to reinforce 
the former ; but on reaching the capes of the Chesapeake, he heard of the 
capture of Yorktown, and returned to New York. 

The surrender of the British army at Yorktown was the last important 
military operation of the war of the Revolution. It was generally consid- 
ered throughout the country as decisive of the contest in favor of the 
American cause. The year 1781 (says Ramsay) terminated, in all parts 
of the United States, in favor of the Americans. It began with weakness 
in Carolina, mutiny in New Jersey, and devastation in Virginia ; never- 
theless, at its close, the British were confined in their sti-ongholds in or 
near New York, Charleston, and Savannah, and their whole army in Vir- 
ginia was captured. 

Washington endeavored, but in vain, to induce the count de Grasse to 
remain and assist in the reduction of Charleston ; he pleaded special en- 
gagements in the West Indies, whence he sailed immediately, leaving 
with Rochambeau the three thousand land-troops he brought with him. 
The French army cantoned during the winter at Williamsburg, in Vir- 
ginia, whither the prisoners taken at Yorktown were marched ; and the 
main body of the American army returned to its late position in New Jer- 
sey and upon the Hudson. A detachment, under General St. Clair, was 
sent to the south, to strengthen the army of General Greene. The French 
army remained in Virginia until the summer of 1782, when they joined 
the Americans on the Hudson. On the cessation of hostilities, they em- 
barked from Boston for St. Domingo, in December, 1782. 

Vigilant measures were adopted by Washington for the campaign of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 55 

1782 ; but fortunately tliey were unnecessary, for active hostilities soon 
after ceased. In the southern states some skirmishes took place ; but 
these combats were chiefly partisan, carried on between whigs and 
tories. 

General Washington left Yorktown on the fifth of November, and hast- 
ened to Eltham, where his wife was attending the death-bed of her only 
son, Mr. Custis. He remained there a few days, to mingle his grief with 
the relatives of Mr. Custis, who died at the age of twenty-eight, leaving 
four young children, the two youngest of whom, a son and daughter, were 
adopted by the general, and they resided in his family till the end of his 
life. From Eltham he proceeded, by the way 6f Mount Vernon, to Phil- 
adelphia, receiving and answering various public addresses while on his 
journey. He attended Congress the day after his arrival, and was greeted 
with a congratulatory address by the president of that body. By request, 
he remained some time in Philadelphia, to confer with Congress, and that 
he might enjoy some respite from the fatigues of war ; and joined the 
army in the following month of April, establishing his headquarters at 
Newburgh, on the Hudson river. 

Sir Guy Carleton, who was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Clinton in 
command of the British forces in America, arrived at New York early in 
May, 1782, bearing instructions to use all honorable means to bring about 
an accommodation with the United States. Both parties, therefore, ceased 
offensive warfare, and preparations were made to conclude terms of peace. 
On the twentieth of January, 1783, the preliminary treaty was signed be- 
tween France, Spain, and Great Britain, and on the third of September, 
of the same year, definitive treaties of all the powers were signed at one 
time. Congress ratified the one with America on the fourteenth of Janu- 
ary, 1784. 

On the anniversary of the battle of Lexington (April 19, 1783), a ces- 
sation of hostilities was proclaimed in the American army. On the third 
of November following, the army was disbanded by the orders of Con- 
gress, and the three cities occupied by British troops were evacuated — 
Savannah in July, New York in November, and Charleston in December, 
of the same year. 

The conclusion of peace, and the disbanding of the army, were events 
that reflecting men looked forward to with feelings of mingled joy and 
fear. Although the struggle had been brought to a triumphant issue by 
the United States, the country was impoverished. Much of the territory 
had been laid waste, commerce was nearly annihilated, a heavy burden 
of debt incurred by the war was weighing upon the people, and the circu- 
lating medium of paper-money had become so utterly worthless, that, by 
a decree of Congress, its functions were terminated. Added to this, an 
arm.y of about ten thousand men were large creditors to Congress, their 
pay being greatly in arrears. It was manifest that Congress was unable 



56 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

to meet tlie claims of the soldiers, and could only recommend their case to 
their respective states. 

In the month of December, 1782, the officers in the army resolved to me- 
morialize Congress upon the subject of their grievances, proposing that the 
half-pay for life should be commuted for a specific sum, and requesting 
government to give security for the fulfilment of its engagements. Con- 
gress had a stormy debate upon the subject ; but as nine states could not 
be obtained to vote the commutation proposition, the whole matter was 
dropped. This neglect of Congress to provide for their wants, produced 
a violent ferment among the officers, and through them the whole army 
became excited, and many minds among them determined upon coercive 
measures. In the midst of this ferment, an anonymous notice for a meet- 
ing of the general and field-officers, and a commissioned officer from each 
company, was circulated in the camp, accompanied with a letter, or ad- 
dress, complaining of their great hardships, and asserting that their coun- 
try, instead of relieving them, " trampled upon their rights, disdained their 
cries, and insulted their distresses." 

Fortunately, Washington was in the camp, and, with his usual prompt-, 
ness and wisdom, called a general meeting of all the officers, in place of 
the irregular one. He condemned the tone of the letter, as implying a 
proposal either to desert their country or turn their arms against her, and 
then gave them the strongest pledges that he would use his utmost power 
to induce Congress to grant their demands. His address was a feeling 
one, and appealed directly to their patriotism and the nobler sentiments 
of the heart. When he had concluded, he immediately retired from the 
meeting. The deliberations of the officers were exceedingly brief, and 
resulted in the adoption of resolutions, thanking the commander-in-chief 
for the course he had pursued, and expressing their unabated attachment 
to him, and confidence in the justice and good faith of Congress. They 
then separated, and, with hearts glowing with warmer patriotism, resolved 
still longer to endure privations for their beloved country. Congress soon 
after made arrangements for granting the officers full pay for five years, 
instead of half-pay for life, and four months full pay for the army, in part 
payment of arrearages. But as there were no funds to make this payment 
immediately, it required all the address of Washington to induce the sol- 
diers to quietly return to their homes. 

On the 24th of March, 1783, a letter was received from Lafayette, 
announcing the signing of the preliminary treaty ; and Sir Guy Carleton 
gave official notice of the same soon after. In June, Washington wrote a 
circular letter to the governors of the states, having for its theme the gen- 
eral welfare of the country, in which he exhibited great ability, and the 
most truthful features of genuine patriotism. During the summer, many 
of the troops went home on furlough, and the commander-in-chief was 
employed, with Congress, in arranging a peace-establishment, and making 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 57 

preparations for the evacuation of New York by the British troops. On 
the eighteenth of October, Congress issued a proclamation, discharging 
the troops from further service ; and ihus, in effect, the continental army- 
was disbanded. This proclamation was soon followed by General Wash- 
ington's Farewell Address to the Army, November 2, 1783; an address 
replete with sound wisdom and evidences of a virtuous attachment to the 
men and the cause with whom, and for which, he had labored for eight 
years. 

A small body of troops, who had enlisted for a definite period, were 
retained in the service, and assembled at West Point, under General Knox. 
Arrangements having been made with Carleton for the evacuation and 
surrender of New York on the twenty-fifth of November, these troops 
proceeded to the city, and, as soon as the British were embarked, they 
entered in triumphal procession, with Governor Clinton and other civil 
officers of the state. The ceremonies of the day were ended by a public 
entertainment given by Governor Clinton, and, throughout the whole trans- 
action, perfect order prevailed. 

On the fourth of December, Washington bade a final adieu to his com- 
panions in arms. " At noon," says Marshall, " the principal officers of the 
army assembled at Francis's tavern, in New York, soon after which their 
beloved commander entered the room. His emotions were too strong to 
be concealed. Filling a glass, he turned to them and said : * With a heart 
full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish 
that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy, as your former ones 
have been glorious and honorable.' Having drunk, he added : ' I can not 
come to each of you to take guy leave, but shall be obliged if each of you 
will come and take me by the hand.' General Knox, being nearest, turned 
to him. Washington, incapable of utterance, grasped his hand and era- 
braced him. In the same affectionate manner, he took leave of each suc- 
ceeding officer. The tear of manly sensibility was in every eye, and not 
a word was articulated to interrupt the dignified silence, and the tender- 
ness of the scene. Leaving the room, he passed through the corps of 
light-infantry, and walked to Whitehall, where a barge waited to convey 
him to Paulus's Hook. The whole company followed in mute and solemn 
procession, with dejected countenances, testifying feelings of delicious 
melancholy, which no language can describe. Having entered the barge, 
he turned to the company, and, waving his hat, bade them a silent adieu. 
They paid him the same affectionate compliment ; and, after the barge had 
left them, returned in the same solemn manner to the place where they 
had assembled." 

Washington then repaired to Annapolis, where Congress was in ses- 
sion, and, on the twenty-third of December, resigned into their hands the 
commission he had received from that body more than eight years before, 
appointing him commander-in-chief of the continental armies. In all the 



58 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

towns and villages through which he passed, public and private demon- 
strations of joy and gratitude met him on every side ; and Congress re- 
solved that the resignation of his commission should be in a public audi- 
ence. A large concourse of distinguished persons were present ; and, at 
the close of a brief address,* Washington stepped forward and handed his 
commission to the president (General Mifflin), who made an affectionate 
and appropriate reply. He then " hastened with ineffable delight" (to use 
his own words) to his seat at Mount Vernon, resolved there to pass the 
remainder of his days amid the pure and quiet pleasures of his domestic 
circle, enhanced a thousand-fold by the consideration that his country 
was free and independent, and had taken a place among the nations of the 
earth. t 

The conclusion of the revolutionary war permitted Washington to return 
to those domestic scenes in which he delighted, and from which no views 
of ambition seem to have had the power to draw his affections. One of 
the greatest proofs of his patriotism was his refusal to receive any pecu- 
niary compensation for his services as commander-in-chief during the 
eight years in which he had served his country in that capacity. When 
he accepted the appointment, he announced to Congress his determination 
to decline payment for his services. He simply asked the reimbursement 
of his expenses, an exact account of which he kept and presented to the 
government, drawn up by his own hand at the close of the war.| 

In the month of September, 1784, Washington made a tour to the west- 
ern country, for the purpose of inspecting the lands he possessed beyond 
the Allegany mountains, and also of ascertaining the practicability of open- 
ing a canal between the head-waters of th^ rivers running eastward into 
the Atlantic, and those that flow westward to the Ohio. The extent of 
this journey was six hundred and eighty miles, which he travelled on 
horseback. He crossed the mountains, and examined the waters of the 
Blonongahela river, with the special view of deciding the question in his 
own mind, whether the Potomac and James rivers could be connected by 
internal navigation with the western waters. He conversed on the sub- 
ject with such intelligent persons as he met, and kept a journal in which 
he recorded the results of his observations and inquiries. His thoughts 
had been turned to this enterprise before the Revolution ; and soon after 
returning from this western tour, in October, 1784, he communicated to 

* Washington closed his address with the following words : " I consider it an indispen- 
sable duty to close this last solemn act of my official life by commending the interests of 
our dearest country to the protection of Almighty God, and those who have the superin- 
tendence of them into his holy keeping. Having now finished the work assigned me, I 
retire from the great theatre of action ; and bidding an affectionate farewell to this august 
body, under whose orders I have long acted, 1 here offer my commission, and take my 
leave of all employment of public life." 

f Lossing's War of Independence. 

f A fac-simile of this accoiuit of Washington's public expenditures has been published in 
a handsome volume, by Mr. Franklin Knight, of Washington city. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 59 

the governor of Virginia the fruits of his investigations in a letter, one of 
the ablest, most sagacious, and most important productions of his pen. 
The governor laid this letter before, the legislature. It was the first sug- 
gestion of the great system of internal improvements which has since 
been pursued in the United States. 

The legislature of Virginia, after duly considering this letter of Wash- 
ington to the governor, appointed a commission for surveys, and organized 
two companies called the Potomac company, and the James river com- 
pany, for the purpose of carrying the plan into effect. 

It may here be added, that Washington was a zealous advocate for 
schools and literary institutions of every kind, and sought to promote them 
by his public addresses and by private benefactions. In this spirit he ac- 
cepted the chancellorship of William and Mary college, being earnestly 
solicited by the trustees.* 

Washington was not long allowed to remain in retirement. To remedy 
the distress into which the country had been thrown by the war, and to 
organize a permanent plan of national government, a national convention 
of delegates from the several states was called, and met at Philadelphia 
in 1787. Having been chosen one of the delegates from Virginia, Wash- 
ington was appointed to preside over the deliberations of the convention, 
and used his influence to cause the adoption of the constitution of the 
United States. 

By the unanimous voice of his fellow-citizens and of the electoral col- 
leges, he was called, in 1789, to act as president of the United States, 
and cheerfully lent his aid in organizing the new government. Amid all 
the difliculties which occurred at that period from differences of opinion 
among the people, many of whom were opposed to the measures proposed 
and adopted, the national government would probably have perished in its 
infancy, if it had not been for the wisdom and firmness of Washington. 
During his first term the French revolution commenced, which convulsed 
the whole political world, and which tried most severely his moderation 
and prudence. His conduct was a model of firm and dignified modera- 
tion. Insults were offered to his authority by the minister of the French 
republic (Mr. Genet) and his adherents, in official papers, in anonymous 
libels, and by tumultuous meetings. The law of nations was trampled 
under foot. No vexation could disturb the tranquillity of his mind, or 
make him deviate from the policy which his situation prescribed. During 
the whole course of that arduous struggle, his personal character gave 
that strength to a new magistracy which in other countries arises from 
ancient habits of obedience and respect. The authority of his virtue was 
more efficacious for the preservation of America, than the legal powers of 
his office. During this turbulent period he was unanimously re-elected 
to the presidency, in 1793, for another term, although he had expressed a 

* Sparks. 



60 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 

wish to retire. The nation was then nearly equally divided into two great 
political parties, who united only on the name of Washington. Through- 
out the whole course of his second presidency the danger of the United 
States was great and imminent. The spirit of change, indeed, shook all 
nations. But in other countries it had to encounter ancient and strong 
established power ; in America the government was new and weak ; the 
people had scarcely time to recover from the effects of a recent civil war. 
Washington employed the horror excited by the atrocities of the French 
revolution for the best purposes ; to preserve the internal quiet of his 
country ; to assert the dignity and to maintain the rights of the common- 
wealth which he governed, against foreign enemies. He avoided war, 
without incurring the imputation of pusillanimity. He cherished the de- 
testation of the best portion of his countrymen for anarchy, without weak- 
ening the spirit of liberty ; and he maintained the authority of the govern- 
ment without infringing on the rights of the states, or abridging the priv- 
ileges of the people. He raised no hopes that he did not gratify ; he 
made no promises that he did not fulfil ; he exacted proper respect due 
to the high office he held, and rendered to others every courtesy belong- 
ing to his high station. 

Having determined to retire from the presidency at the expiration of 
his second term, in March, 1797, he issued in September, 1796, a fare- 
well address to the people of the United States, which will be found in 
this volume, and which will remain as a permanent legacy to his country- 
men through future generations, for its sentiments of patriotism, and sound 
maxims of political sagacity. He remained at the seat of government 
until the inauguration of his successor, Mr. Adams, which occasion he 
honored with his presence, and immediately retired to Mount Vernon to 
pass the remainder of his days in quiet retirement ; but when, in 1798, 
the United States armed by sea and land, in consequence of their difficul- 
ties with France, he consented to act as lieutenant-general of the army ; 
but was never afterward called upon to take the field, although he bore 
the commission until his death. On Thursday, the twelfth of December, 
1799, he was seized with an inflammation in his throat, which became 
considerably worse the next day, and which terminated his life on Satur- 
day, the fourteenth of the same month, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. 

" No man," says Colonel Knapp, in his biographical sketch, " was ever 
mourned so widely and sincerely as Washington. Throughout the United 
States, eulogies were pronounced upon his character, sermons were 
preached, or some mark of respect paid to his memory. It was not speak- 
ing extravagantly to say that a nation was in tears at his death. There 
have been popular men, who were great in their day and generation, but 
whose fame soon passed away. It is not so with the fame of Washing- 
ton, it grows brighter by years. The writings of Washington (a portion 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF WASHINGTON. 61 

only of which comprise eleven octavo volumes) show that he had a clear, 
lucid mind, and will be read with pleasure for ages to come." 

" General Washington," says Judge Marshall, " was rather above the 
common size ; his frame was robust, and his constitution vigorous — capa- 
ble of enduring great fatigue, and requiring a considerable degree of exer- 
cise for the preservation of his health. His exterior created in the be- 
holder the idea of strength united with manly gracefulness. 

" His manners were rather reserved than free, though they partook 
nothing of that dryness and sternness which accompany reserve when 
carried to an extreme ; and on all proper occasions he could relax suffi- 
ciently to show how highly he was gratified by the charms of conversa- 
tion, and the pleasures of society. His person and whole deportment 
exhibited an unaffected and indescribable dignity, unmingled with haugh- 
tiness, of which all who approached him were sensible ; and the attach- 
ment of those who possessed his friendship, and enjoyed his intimacy, 
was ardent, but always respectful. 

" His temper was humane, benevolent, and conciliatory ; but there was 
a quickness in his sensibility to anything apparently ofl'ensive, which ex- 
perience had taught him to watch and to correct. 

" In the management of his private affairs he exhibited an exact yet lib- 
eral economy. His funds were not prodigally wasted on capricious and 
ill-examined schemes, nor refused to beneficial though costly improve- 
ments. They remained, therefore, competent to that extensive establish- 
ment which his reputation, added to an hospitable temper, had in some 
measure imposed upon him, and to those donations which real distress has 
a right to claim from opulence. 

" In his civil administration, as in his military career, were exhibited 
ample and repeated proofs of that practical good sense, of that sound judg- 
ment which is perhaps the most rare, and is certainly the most valuable 
quality of the human mind. 

" In speculation he was a real republican, devoted to the constitution of 
his country, and to that system of equal political rights on which it is 
founded. But between a balanced republic and a democracy, the differ- 
ence is like that between order and chaos. Real liberty, he thought, was 
to be preserved only by preserving the authority of the' laws, and main- 
taining the energy of government." 



ADMINISTRATION OF WASHINGTON. 



The unanimous choice of General Washington as president of the 
United States by the people of the United States, as expressed through the 
electoral colleges of the several states, at the organization of the govern- 
ment under the constitution, after its adoption, was officially announced to 
the president elect, at his seat at Mount Vernon, on the 14th of April, 
1789. This commission was executed by Mr. Charles Thompson, secre- 
tary of the late continental Congress, who presented to him the certificate 
of the secretary of the senate, stating that he was unanimously elected ; 
the votes of the electors for president and vice-president having been 
counted by both houses of the first Congress under the constitution, then 
in session at the city of New York, on the 6th of April. 

The urgency of the public business requiring the immediate attendance 
of the president at the seat of government, he hastened his departure, and 
on the second day after receiving notice of his appointment, he took leave 
of Mount Vernon and his family, and set out for New York, in company 
with Mr. Thompson and Colonel Humphreys. On his way to that city he 
was everywhere greeted by the people of the different places through 
which he passed, with the most enthusiastic and decisive evidences of 
attachment and respect. Although the president hastened his journey, 
and wished to render it private, the public feelings were too strong to be 
suppressed. Crowds flocked around him wherever he stopped ; and 
corps of militia, with companies of the most respectable citizens escorted 
him through their respective states. 

In New Jersey, after a most interesting scene at Trenton, having been 
received by the governor of that state, who ascompanied him to Eliza- 
bethtown point, he was met by a committee of Congress, who conducted 
him thence to New York. The president, committee, and other gentle- 
men, embarked for the city in an elegant barge of thirteen oars, manned 
by thirteen branch pilots prepared for the purpose by the citizens of New 
York. 

" The display of boats," says Washington, in his private journal, " which 
attended and joined on this occasion, some with vocal, and others with 
instrumental music on board, the decorations of the ships, the roar of can- 



64 



WASHINGTON S ADMINISTRATION 



non, and the loud acclamations of the people, which rent the sky as I 
passed along the wharves, filled my mind with sensations as painful (con- 
templating the reverse of this scene, which may be the case after all my 
labors to do good) as they Avere pleasing." 

In this manner, on the 23d of April, the man possessed of a nation's 
love landed at the stairs on Murray's wharf, which had been prepared and 
ornamented for the purpose. There he was received by the governor of 
New York, and conducted, with military honors, through an immense con- 
course of people, to the apartments provided for him. These were attended 
by foreign ministers, by public bodies, by political characters, and by private 
citizens of distinction, who pressed around him to offer their congratula- 
tions, and to express the joy which glowed in their bosoms at seeing the 
man in whom all confided at the head of the American empire. This day 
of extravagant joy was succeeded by a splendid illumination.* 

The ceremonies of the inauguration having been adjusted by Con- 
gress, on the 30th of April, 1789, the president attended in the senate- 
chamber in order to take, in the presence of both houses, the oath pre- 
scribed by the constitution. 

The session of Congress was then held in the city-hall, then called 
Federal hall, situated in Wall street, opposite the head of Broad street. 
To gratify the public curiosity, an open gallery adjoining the senate- 
chamber had been selected by Congress as the place in which the cere- 
mony should take place. The oath was administered by Chancellor Liv- 
ingston, of New York. Having taken it in the view of an immense con- 
course of people, who attested their joy by loud and repeated acclama- 
tions after the chancellor had pronounced, in a very feeling manner, 
" Long live George Washington, president of the United States," he returned 
to the senate-chamber and delivered his inaugural address. 

The inaugural address of the president was replied to, on the part of 
the senate, by their presiding officer, John Adams, who had been elected 
vice-president of the United States. This reply of the senate was full 
of confidence in the president, and the sentiments expressed breathed the 
purest patriotism, and were every way worthy of that dignified body. 
The same may be said of the reply of the house of representatives, deliv- 
ered through their speaker, Frederick A. Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania. 
To both of these addresses the president rejoined in a few brief and ap- 
propriate remarks. 

Eleven only of the original thirteen states had adopted the federal con- 
stitution, previous to the organization of the government by the election 
of president, vice-president, and members of Congress. North Carolina 
and Rhode Island had rejected the constitution ; but finally came into the 
Union, the former in November, 1789, the latter in May, 1790. The 
• Marshall's Life of Washington. 



Washington's administration. 65 

electors of president and vice-president were appointed in ten of the states 
on the first Wednesday of January, 1789, and met to give their votes in 
the several states, on the first Wednesday of February, and the constitu- 
tion went into operation on the first Wednesday of March, the same year. 
It was not, however, until the 30th of April, that the government was fully 
organized, by the induction of the president into office. The legislature 
of New York having omitted to pass a law directing the mode of choosing 
electors, owing to a disagreement between the two branches of the legis- 
lature. New York did not participate in the first election of president. 
The whole number of electoral votes given by the ten states was 69, all 
of which General Washington received, and 34 were received by Mr. 
Adams, the remaining 35 having been scattered among various candidates. 
By the constitution, as it originally stood, the presidential electors voted 
for two persons ; the one receiving the highest number of votes was elect- 
ed president, and the next highest, or second choice of the electors, be- 
came vice-president. A majority of the whole number of electoral votes 
was required for the choice of president, but not for vice-president. Mr. 
Adams, it will be observed, althougli he received the greatest number of 
votes next to Washington, was elected vice-president by a minority. 

The national government, though one of deliberate consent, encoun- 
tered, from its formation, a powerful opposition. The friends of the con- 
stitution, with Washington and Adams at their head, were denominated 
Federalists, while those who had opposed the adoption of the constitution 
were called Anti-Federalists. From various causes, some of those who 
had supported the constitution in the national and state conventions, and 
otherwise, joined the opposition to the administration of Washington, among 
whom may be mentioned Mr. Madison, of Virginia, Mr. Langdon, of New 
Hampshire, Doctor Williamson, of North Carolina, Mr. Baldwin, of Geor- 
gia, and others. In the first Congress, in 1789 and 1790, there was but 
a small majority in favor of the measures recommended by Washington, 
and Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury. The anti-federalists elected 
John Langdon, of New Hampshire, president pro tern, of the senate, and 
Frederick A. Muhlenberg, speaker of the house of representatives, but 
they were chosen in the early part of the session, when party lines were 
not strictly drawn. 

The first session of the first Congress, which was held at New York, 
occupied a period of nearly six months, the adjournment taking place on 
the 29lh of September, 1789. They were employed principally in fra- 
ming laws necessary to the organization of the government. In this space 
of time the construction of the powers intended to be given was very ably 
discussed. The subjects of commerce and of finance received the early 
and prompt attention of Congress, as well as the organization of the dif- 
ferent departments, and of a federal judiciary system. Among the sub- 
jects strenuously debated was the president's power of appointment and 
5 



66 Washington's administration. 

removal of officers at the head of each executive department of the gov- 
ernment, and other officers under the president. The appointment was 
constitutionally subject to the assent of the senate. The removal, on 
which point the constitution was silent, was then settled to be in the 
power of the president alone. A system was adopted for raising a rev- 
enue from duties on imports, and the principle was recognised of discrim- 
inating duties for the protection of American manufactures. The subject 
of a tonnage duty was also considered, and an act passed discriminating 
in favor of American .vessels, owners, and navigators. Sixteen articles of 
amendment to the constitution were approved by Congress, in September, 
1789, and recommended to the states for their adoption. Ten of these 
articles were approved by the requisite number of states, and thus became 
parts of the constitution. Two other articles, since adopted by the states, 
were proposed at subsequent sessions of Congress. 

Soon after the adjournment of Congress the president made a tour 
through the eastern states. Before he commenced his journey, he se- 
lected his cabinet, namely : in September, 1789, Thomas Jefferson was 
appointed secretary of state ; Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the treas- 
ury ; Henry Knox, secretary of war ; and Edmund Randolph, attorney- 
general. The office of secretary of the navy did not exist until the 
presidency of Mr. Adams. Mr. Jefferson returned from a mission to 
France in November, 1789, and assumed the duties of secretary of state 
in March, 1790. 

John Jay, of New York, was appointed chief justice of the supreme 
court ; and John Rutledge, of South Carolina, James Wilson, of Pennsyl- 
vania, William Cushing of Massachusetts, Robert H Harrison, of Mary- 
land, and John Blair, of Virginia, associate justices. 

At the second session of the first Congress, which was held at New York, 
comm.encing in January, 1790, some of the able reports of Hamilton, as 
secretary of the treasury, were presented, which established the course 
of national policy pursued by that and various succeeding administrations. 
The funding of the public debt incurred by the war of the revolution, the 
assumption of state debts by the general government, the providing of a 
system of revenue from duties on imports, and an internal excise, were 
among the measures proposed by Hamilton, and adopted by Congress. At 
this session an act was passed providing for the permanent seat of the 
national government at the District of Columbia, and for the removal of 
(the temporary seat of government to Philadelphia. 

The third session of the same Congress was held at Philadelphia, from 
the first Monday of December, 1790, to March 3, 1791. To complete 
the financial system recommended by Hamilton, a national bank was 
incorporated. On this subject the cabinet and members of Congress were 
divided, but the act of incorporation was passed by considerable majori- 
ties, and approved by President Washington. A mint was also estab- 



Washington's administration. 67 

lished for the purpose of national coinage, and at the same session 
the states of Vermont and Kentucky were admitted into the Union. The 
measures adopted by this Congress were of a highly beneficial character 
to the country, and had the effect to establish the national credit, and ad- 
vance the public prosperity. 

The second Congress met at Philadelphia, in October, 1791. There 
was a majority in each branch favorable to the administration. Among 
the measures of the session, an excise act, imposing a duty on domestic 
distilled spirits, similar to one passed in 1790, was adopted, and became 
very unpopular with the opposition to the administration. A law provi- 
ding for a uniform militia system was also passed, and measures taken for 
a defence of the western frontiers against the Indians, who, in November, 
1791, defeated a body of United States troops, under General St. Clair, 
near the Ohio river. A bounty was granted by law at this session, on 
vessels employed in the fisheries, for the encouragement of that branch 
of business ; and an apportionment of representation in Congress was 
made in conformity to the census taken in 1790 — the ratio fixed was 
33,000 inhabitants for each representative. 

The violent opposition to the excise law by a portion of the people, 
particularly in the interior of Pennsylvania, where meetings were held, 
and the revenue officers threatened with personal injury, induced Con- 
gress, in May, 1792, to pass an act authorizing the president to call 
out the militia to assist in executing the laws, if he should deem proper. 
The president being reluctant to employ military force, issued a proclama- 
tion, exhorting the people to desist from all illegal acts and meetings ; but 
his council and warning did not produce the effect expected. The discon- 
tents continued until August, 1794, when this whiskey insurrection had 
assumed so serious a character in western Pennsylvania, that an army of 
volunteers and militia was formed, consisting of about 15,000 men, to 
suppress it. The insurgents did not venture to meet this force, and the 
rebellion ceased without conflict. No further opposition was then made 
to the excise law. 

The second session of the second Congress, from November, 1792, to 
March, 1793, presents but little of interest to the reader. Much of the 
time was occupied in discussing the domestic and foreign relations of the 
country, without the adoption of any particular measures of importance. 
Party spirit ran high, both in Congress and among the people. The cab- 
inet of Washington was divided, Hamilton and Knox advising federal meas- 
ures, while Jefferson and Randolph generally acted in opposition to their col- 
leagues, and in unison with the opposition in Congress, whom Mr. Jeffer- 
son denominated Republicans. The schism in his cabinet was a subject 
of extreme mortification to the president. Entertaining respect and es- 
teem for both Jeff'erson and Hamilton, he was unwilling to part with either, 
and exerted all his influence to eflfect a reconciliation between them, but 



68 Washington's administration. 

without success. The hostiUty of these distinguished men to each other 
sustained no diminution, and its consequences became every day more 
diffusive. 

The French revolution had an important influence on the poHtics of the 
United States, at this time. Mr. Jefferson and his republican friends sym- 
pathized with the French nation in their struggles for liberty and their 
contests with other nations, while Hamilton, and his friends of the federal 
party, with Avhom Washington coincided in this respect, considered it im- 
portant to the interests of the United States to maintain friendly relations with 
Great Britain, which power was then at war with France, and they were 
unwilling to sacrifice either the peace or the interests of the nation to any 
sympathies they might have in favor of the revolutionists of France. 

In this state of public opinion, the presidential election of 1792 took 
place. General Washington had expressed a desire to decline a re-elec- 
tion, but finally yielded to the earnest wishes of his friends, to serve an- 
other term. Notwithstanding the high party feeling among the people, 
Washington again received the unanimous votes of the electoral colleges, 
132 in number. Mr. Adams was re-elected vice-president, receiving 77 
votes, and George Clinton 50, while 5 were given to other persons. Gov- 
ernor Clinton was the candidate of the republican party. 

General Washington appeared in the senate-chamber at Philadelphia 
on the fourth of March, 1793, to take the oath of office on his re-election 
to the presidency. The oath was administered by Judge Gushing, of 
the supreme court, in the presence of John Langdon, president pro tern. 
of the senate, and many members of Congress. 

On this occasion, the president made the following remarks : — 

" I am again called upon, by the voice of my country, to execute the 
functions of its chief magistrate. When the occasion proper for it shall 
arrive, I shall endeavor to express the high sense I entertain of this dis- 
tinguished honor, and of the confidence which has been reposed in me .by 
the people of the United States. Previous to the execution of any official 
act of the president, the constitution requires an oath of office. This oath 
I am now about to take, and in your presence, that if it shall be found, 
during my administration of the government, I have in any instance vio- 
lated, willingly or knowingly, the injunctions thereof, I may, besides in- 
curring constitutional punishment, be subjected to the upbraidings of all 
who are now witnesses of the present solemn ceremony." 

In April, 1793, Citizen Genet arrived in this country as minister from 
the French republic. He sought to involve the United States in a war 
with Great Britain, and issued commissions to vessels-of-war, to sail from 
American ports and cruise against the enemies of France. It appears to 
have been expected in France that the United States would engage on its 
side from treaty stipulations, or inclination against England. The presi- 
dent and his cabinet were unanimously of opinion that this country was 



Washington's administration. 69 

not bound to take part in a war begun by France ; and on the 18tli of 
April the celebrated proclamation of neutrality, by the president, was is- 
sued, which has been the guide of the nation ever since, in affairs with 
foreign nations. 

Mr. Genet, after this, threatened to appeal to the people, but finally, after 
many controversies with him, the president demanded his recall by the 
French government. Soon after this his commission was withdrawn, and 
Mr. Fauchet was appointed his successor. Mr. Genet, however, spent 
the remainder of his life in the United States, and married a daughter of 
Governor George Clinton, of New York. 

Mr. Genet was said to have introduced into the United States the idea of 
*' democratic societies," which were first formed in this country about this 
time, in imitation of the Jacobin clubs in Paris. After the fall of Robes- 
pierre these clubs, or secret societies, fell into disrepute, both in France 
and America. 

When the third Congress assembled at Philadelphia, in December, 
1793, the opposition to the administration succeeded in electing the 
speaker of the house of representatives, which body was afterward nearly 
equally divided on great political questions. In the senate, the vice-pres- 
ident, Mr. Adams, repeatedly settled important questions by his casting vote. 

On the 16th of December, the secretary of state, Mr. Jefferson, in 
compliance with a resolution of the house of representatives of February 
23, 1791, made to Congress his celebrated report on the commercial rela- 
tions of the United States with foreign nations. This is one of the ablest 
documents that has ever emanated from Mr. Jefferson. He made an ad- 
ditional report on the 30th of December, communicating certain docu- 
ments of foreign governments, which was his last official act as secretary 
of state. Agreeably to a notice which he gave the president, some months 
previous, he resigned his office and seat in the cabinet, December 3], 
1793, and retired to his residence in Virginia. 

The president appointed Edmund Randolph to succeed Mr. Jefferson as 
secretary of state, and William Bradford, of Pennsylvania, to succeed Mr. 
Randolph as attorney- general. 

On the 4th of January, 1794, Mr. Madison introduced in the house a 
series of resolutions on commercial affairs, in conformity with the report 
of Mr Jefferson. They gave rise to a long and acrimonious debate, but 
were finally postponed. A resolution, however, to cut off all intercourse 
with Great Britain, passed the house by a small majority, but was defeated 
in the senate by the casting vote of the vice-president. The important 
subjects suggested in the president's message, and in official reports, were 
under consideration in the two branches of Congress, from the beginning 
of January to the 16th of April. The excitement was high among a large 
portion of the people, in favor of France. They insisted that the friends 
of France should declare themselves by wearing the national cockade. 



70 Washington's administration. 

They insisted, also, on war with England. In Congress, the war of words 
disclosed a state of feeling which the decorum of the place hardly re- 
strained from full expression. 

The conduct of the British government at this time added to the diffi- 
culties of the administration. The western forts on Lake Erie and its 
vicinity were still occupied by the British, contrary to the treaty of 1783. 
American vessels were seized on their way to French ports, and American 
seamen were impressed. The president, after many remonstrances with 
the British government, was sensible that a crisis was approaching which 
would involve the United States in a war with England, unless the ca- 
lamity could be averted by negotiation. Washington, therefore, concluded 
to send a special envoy to England, and in April, 1794, selected John Jay, 
then chief justice of the supreme court, for that purpose. Mr. Jay ar- 
rived in England in June, 1794, and in November following a treaty with 
Great Britain was signed. It arrived in the United States on the 7th of 
March, 1795, and was ratified by the senate on the 24th of June, by pre- 
cisely the constitutional majority (two thirds), after much opposition, and 
an investigation continued from the 9th of the same month. As this 
treaty was considered favorable to Great Britain, although it was the best 
that Mr. Jay could obtain, the publication of it in this country tended to 
heighten the asperity of political parties, and to increase the feelings of 
hostility toward England which were entertained by the opposition to the 
administration. The clamor against the treaty, however, gradually sub- 
sided, and addresses from all quarters poured in upon the president, prin- 
cipally from his political friends, congratulating him upon the fortunate 
issue of the mission. 

In consequence of a decision of the supreme court, in a suit instituted 
by a citizen of South Carolina against the state of Georgia, and the action 
of the state of Massachusetts, on a suit being commenced against that state, 
an amendment was proposed, and carried at the first session of the third 
Congress, which was afterward ratified by three fourths of the several 
states, declaring that, " the judicial power of the United States should not 
be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or pros- 
ecuted against one of the United States, by citizens of another state, or by 
citizens or subjects of any foreign state." This forms the 11th article of 
the amendments to the constitution. 

During the summer of 1794, a successful campaigTi was carried on 
against the Indians, by the American troops under General Wayne, Avho 
defeated a large body of Indian warriors in a battle, in August of that 
year, on the banks of the Maumee, in Ohio. General Wayne soon after- 
ward negotiated a treaty with all the tribes of the northwest ; and, in con- 
formity to Mr. Jay's treaty, the surrender of the western posts which had 
been so long retained by the British, gave assurance of continued peace 
on the frontier. 



WASHrN'GTON's ADMINISTRATION. 71 

In 1794, the French government requested the recall of Gouverneur 
Morris, the minister from the United States to France, which request 
Washington complied with, and appointed James Monroe his successor. 
Mr. Morris had expressed his disapprobation of the revolutionary proceed- 
ings in France. In September, 1796, the president recalled Mr. Monroe, 
and appointed Charles Cotesworth Pinckney to succeed hira. 

At the close of the year 1794, General Knox resigned his place as 
secretary of war, and retired to Boston. His successor was Timothy 
Pickering, who was appointed on the 2d of January, 1795 ; he was, pre- 
vious to that time, postmaster-general. 

Mr. Hamilton resigned, as secretary of the treasury, on the 31st of Janu- 
ary, 1795, and was succeeded on the 2d of February, by Oliver Wolcott, of 
Connecticut. In consequence of the death of Mr. Bradford, attorney-gen- 
eral, in August, 1795, the president appointed Charles Lee, of Virginia, 
his successor, December 10, 1795. At the same time, Timothy Picker- 
ing was appointed secretary of state, in place of Edmund Randolph, who 
had resigned the preceding August. James M'Henry was appointed sec- 
retary of war, January 27, 1796. 

When the third Congress assembled, at their second session, in No- 
vember, 1794, it appeared that, while the party in favor of the administra- 
tion had been strengthened in the senate by recent events, in the house of 
representatives the opposition still continued to be the most powerful. In 
replying to the president's speech, the address of the house omitted to notice 
those parts which censured self-created societies, by which term the demo- 
cratic clubs were supposed to be intended ; also the victory of Gen. Wayne 
and the policy observed by the executive in its intercourse with foreign 
nations. An attempt to censure the " self-created societies," failed by the 
casting vote of the speaker. A bill, however, was passed, authorizing the 
president to station military force in the western counties of Pennsylva- 
nia, and an appropriation, exceeding one million of dollars, was made to 
defray the expenses of the insurrection. 

The report of the secretary of the treasury, on the national finances, was 
the last official act of Colonel Hamilton ; he soon after retired from office, 
as already stated. His report embraced the digest of a plan on the basis 
of the actual revenues for the further support of the public credit. In 
conformity with this plan, a bill was carried, notwithstanding a strenuous 
opposition, through both houses, establishing a sinking fund, composed of 
the surplus revenue, the bank dividends, and the proceeds of the public 
lands, for the redemption of the national debt. On the third of March, 
1795, the constitutional term of the third Congress expired, and this im- 
portant session was ended. 

The senate was convened by the president, on the 8th of June follow- 
ing, for the purpose of considering Mr. Jay's treaty with Great Britain, 
which was ratified by that body, as already stated, on the 24th of the 



72 Washington's administration. 

same month. The president arrived in Philadelphia, from Mount Yeraon. 
on the 11th of August, and on the next day the question of the immediate 
ratification of the treaty was brought before the cabinet. The resolution 
was adopted to ratify the treaty immediately, the secretary of state, IMr. 
Randolph, only, dissenting ; and this opinion of the cabinet was confirmed 
by the president. 

" If the ratification of the treaty," says Judge Marshall, " increased the 
number of its open advocates, by stimulating the friends of the adminis- 
tration to exert themselves in its defence, it seemed also to give in- 
creased acrimony to the opposition. Previous to the mission of Mr. Jay, 
charges against the chief magistrate, though frequently insinuated, had 
seldom been directly made. That mission visibly affected the decorum 
which had been usually observed toward him, and the ratification of the 
treaty brought into view sensations which had long been ill concealed. 
The calumnies with which he was assailed were not confined to his pub- 
lic conduct ; even his qualities as a man were the subjects of detraction. 
That he had violated the constitution in negotiating a treaty without the 
previous advice of the senate, and that he had drawn from the treasury 
for his private use more than the salary annexed to his office, were 
unblushingly asserted. 

" Though the secretary of the treasury denied that the appropriations 
made by the legislature had ever been exceeded, the atrocious charge was 
still confidently repeated. With the real public the confidence felt in the 
integrity of the chief magistrate remained unshaken. 

" When possessed of the entire fact, the public viewed with just indig- 
nation this attempt to defame a character which was the nation's pride. 
Americans felt themselves affected by this atrocious calumny on their most 
illustrious citizen, and its propagators were frowned into silence." 

Many of those embarrassments in which the government, from its in- 
stitution, had been involved, were now ended, or approaching their termi- 
nation. 

The opposition to the laws, which had so long been made in western 
Pennsylvania, existed no longer. Peace had been made with the Indian 
tribes at the west and the south. After the failure of several attempts to 
obtain a peace with the regency of Algiers, Colonel Humphreys, the min- 
ister of the United States to Portugal, to whom full powers were granted, 
appointed Mr. Donaldson to transact this business ; and a treaty with Al- 
giers was negotiated on terms which, though disadvantageous, were the 
best that could be obtained. The difficulties with Spain, which had been 
of long continuance, were adjusted by a treaty concluded by Mr. Pinck- 
ney, the United States minister, with his catholic majesty, in October, 
1795, in which the claims of the United States on the important points 
of boundary and the navigation of the Mississippi were fully conceded. 

The fourth Congress commenced their fitrst session in December, 1795. 



Washington's administration. 73 

While the majority in the senate in favor of the administration had in- 
creased, the result of the last elections had again placed a majority in the 
house of representatives in opposition. This was manifest from the an- 
swers returned by the respective houses to the president's speech. That 
of the senate, adopted fourteen to eight, expressed an entire approbation 
of the conduct of the executive. The answer reported by a committee 
of the house, contained expressions of undiminished confidence in the 
president. But a motion was made to strike out this part ; and in the de- 
bate on this motion, some of the members did not hesitate to say, that 
their confidence in the chief magistrate had diminished ; and it was 
evident that a majority were in favor of the motion. The answer was. 
therefore, recommitted, and so varied as to meet the unanimous assent of 
the house.* 

Although in the minority on many questions, the friends of the admin- 
istration succeeded in electing Jonathan Dayton, a distinguished federalist 
of New Jersey, speaker of the house of representatives. 

Mr. Monroe, the United States minister to the French republic, having 
presented to that government the American colors, which were placed 
with those of France, in the hall of the national convention, in Paris, Mr. 
Adet, who was appointed minister to the United States to succeed Mr. 
Fauchet, was directed to present to the United States government the flag 
of the French republic. He arrived in the United States in June, 1795, 
but did not present the flag in a formal manner until the first of January, 
1796, when he delivered it to the president, together with a letter to Con- 
gress from the committee of public safety in France. The speech of Mr. 
Adet on this occasion drew from "Washington the memorable reply, com- 
mencing as follows : " Born, sir, in a land of liberty ; having early learned 
its value ; having engaged in a perilous conflict to defend it ; having, in a 
word, devoted the best years of my life to secure its permanent establish- 
ment in my country ; my anxious recollections, my sympathetic feelings, 
and my best wishes, are irresistibly attracted, whensoever, in any country, 
I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom."! 

The address of Mr. Adet, and the answer of the president, were trans- 
mitted to Congress, with the letter from the committee of safety, by 
the president, on the 4th of January. The colors of France he directed 
to be deposited among the archives of the United States. Both houses 
of Congress adopted resolutions expressive of their good will and friend- 
ship for the French republic. 

In February, 1796, the treaty with Great Britain was returned, in the 
form advised by the senate, ratified by his Britannic majesty. The presi- 
dent, in pursuance of his duty, issued his proclamation on the last of Feb- 
ruary, on the subject, and requiring from all persons its observance and 

* Pitkin's History of the United States. t See Marshall's Life of Washington. 



74 Washington's administration, 

execution. For the information of Congress, a copy of tliis proclamation 
was transmitted to each house on the first of March. 

The republican or democratic party in the house of representatives, who 
had denied the right of the president to negotiate a treaty of commerce, 
expressed their dissatisfaction at his course in issuing this proclamation 
before the sense of the house had been declared on the obligation of the 
instrument. On the second of March, therefore, Mr. Livingston, of New 
York, laid upon the table a resolution requesting of the president a copy 
of the instructions to Mr. Jay, together with the correspondence and other 
documents relative to the treaty with Great Britain negotiated by him. 
This motion was vehemently debated, and, after some days, carried, by a 
majority of 57 to 35. The president answered, with his accustomed 
coolness and dignity, stating his reasons why the house of representa- 
tives, which has no part in the treaty-making power, can not be constitu- 
tionally entitled to the papers called for ; and concluded with saying : " A 
just regard to the constitution and to the duty of my office, under all the 
circumstances of this case, forbid a compliance with your request." 

This refusal of the president was received with an indignation which 
the majority were at no pains to conceal. The same spirit was widely 
disseminated through the country ; but public opinion had undergone an 
important change. Popular meetings were held on the subject, and, 
though many of the provisions of the treaty were thought to be objectionable, 
it was believed that a majority, composed of the most intelligent citizens, 
were in favor of carrying the treaty into effect, in good faith. The popu- 
lar sentiment was felt in the house of representatives. The debate in 
that body was very able and interesting. Among the most celebrated 
speeches made on the occasion, was that of Fisher Ames, in support of 
the treaty. Many other distinguished members took part in the debate, 
such as Roger Griswold, R. G. Harper, Theodore Sedgwick, and William 
Smith, on the side of the administration ; and Edward Livingston, James 
Madison, Albert Gallatin, and William B. Giles, in opposition. The final 
question in the house, in favor of laws for carrying the treaty into effect, 
was carried by a majority of three only, 51 to 48. 

The fourth Congress, after continuing their first session until the 1st of 
June, 1796, adjourned to the first Monday of December following. Be- 
sides the measures referred to, many other important acts were adopted ; 
among others, agencies were established among the Indian tribes ; provis- 
ion was made for the sale of the public lands ; and an act was passed for 
the protection and relief of American seamen. The state of Tennessee 
was admitted into the Union on the last day of the session. 

In the spring of 1796, Rufus King was appointed minister to Great 
Britain, in the place of Thomas Pinckney, who, at his own request, was 
permitted to return home. During a residence of several years in Lon- 
don, Mr. King maintained the rights of the country with great ability and 



Washington's administration. 75 

firmness and sustained a high character among the diplomatic corps at 
the British court.* 

The relations of the United States with France continued a subject of 
anxiety. The treaty negotiated with England by Mr. Jay, and the presi- 
dent's proclamation of neutrality, were regarded with much disfavor by 
the French government, and they issued several decrees by which Ameri- 
can vessels were confiscated, in violation of the treaty of commerce. The 
president being dissatisfied with the course of Mr. Monroe, the American 
minister to France, in not urging the rights of his countrymen with sufii- 
cient vigor, he was recalled, as already stated, and Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney appointed in his place. Mr. Monroe was very popular in 
France, and on taking his leave of the government, mutual addresses were 
delivered. The address of the president of the directory, expressing his 
regret at parting with Mr. Monroe, was calculated to flatter the people of 
the United States, while it severely censured their government. Mr. 
Pinckney was permitted to reside at Paris until about the first of Febru- 
ary, 1797, when the French directory gave him written orders to quit the 
territories of the republic, and he retired to Holland. 

The third election of president engaged the national attention after the 
adjournment of Congress. General Washington was earnestly solicited 
to be a candidate for re-election, but positively declined. In September, 
1796, he announced his intention to the people in his memorable " Fare- 
well Address^] In this document he made a last effort to impress upon 
his countrymen those great political truths which had been the guides of 
his own administration, and could alone, in his opinion, form a sure and 
solid basis for the happiness, the independence, and the liberty of the 
United States. 

The sentiments of veneration with which this address was generally 
received, were manifested in almost every part of the Union. Some of 
the state legislatures directed it to be inserted at large in their jour- 
nals ; and nearly all of them passed resolutions expressing their respect 
for the president, their high sense of his exalted services, and the emo- 
tions with which they contemplated his retirement from office. | 

When this address appeared, announcing the resolution of Washington 
to retire, the determination of his fellow-citizens had been unequivocally 
manifested in favor of his continuance in office, and it was believed to be 
apparent, that his election would again be unanimous, if he had consented 
to serve for a third term. 

The two great parties in the United States were now at once arrayed 
against each other on the question of the presidential election. By the 
federalists, Mr. John Adams and Mr. Thomas Pinckney, the late minister 
to Great Britain, were supported as president and vice-president ; while 
the whole force of the opposite party was exerted in favor of Mr. Jefferson. 
• Pitkin. t See page 79. % Marshall. 



r 
76 Washington's administration. 

On the subject of vice-president, the republicans, or democrats, were not uni- 
ted. The result of the election was as follows : John Adams, 71 ; Thomas 
Jefferson, 68 ; Thomas Pinckney, 59 ; Aaron Burr, 30 ; Samuel Adams, 
15; Oliver Ellsworth, 11 ; George Clinton, 7; John Jay, 5; James Ire- 
dell, 3 ; George Washington, 2 ; J. Henry, 2 ; S. Johnson, 2 ; Charles C. 
Pinckney, 1. Total number of electoral votes, 138 — each elector voting 
for two persons. Mr. Adams was therefore elected president, and Mr. 
Jefferson vice-president, for four years from the fourth of March, 1797. 

In November, while the election was pending, and parties were so 
nearly balanced that neither scale could be perceived to preponderate, the 
French minister to this country, Mr. Adet, addressed a letter to the secre- 
tary of state, which he also caused to be immediately published in the 
newspapers, reproaching the federal administration with violating those 
treaties with France which had secured the independence of the United 
States, with ingratitude to France, and with partiality to England. Mr. 
Adet also announced the orders of his government to suspend his minis- 
terial functions with that of the United States. This suspension of his 
functions, however, was not to be regarded " as a rupture between France 
and the United States, but as a mark of just discontent, which was to last 
until the government of the United States returned to sentiments and to 
measures more conformable to the interests of the alliance, and to the 
sworn friendship between the two nations." 

Whatever motives might have impelled Mr. Adet to make this open and 
direct appeal to the American people, in the critical moment of their elec- 
tion of a chief magistrate, it does not appear in any material degree to 
have influenced that election. 

On the 7th of December, 1796, Washington met Congress for the last 
time. His address was comprehensive, temperate, and dignified. It 
presented a full and clear view of the situation of the United States, and 
recommended certain great national measures in the utility of which he 
felt a confidence ; concluding with his congratulations on the success of 
the experiment of the form of government under the constitution, and his 
prayers for its perpetuity. 

The answers of both houses to this speech, notwithstanding the 
conflict of parties, were adopted nearly unanimously. Both expressed 
their grateful sense of the eminent services he had rendered his country, 
their extreme regret at his retiring from office, and their ardent wishes for 
his future personal happiness. Perfect unanimity, however, did not pre- 
vail in the house of representatives. Mr. Giles, of Virginia, said : " If 
he stood alone in the opinion, he would declare that he was not convinced 
that the administration of the government for these six years, had been 
wise and firm. He did not regret the president's retiring from office. He 
hoped he would retire, and enjoy the happiness that awaited his retire- 
ment. He believed it would more conduce to that happiness that he 



Washington's administration. 77 

should retire, than if he should remain in office." In this opinion of IVIr. 
Giles, only eleven concurred, and with him voted against the answer.* 

On the 19th of January, 1797, the president, agreeably to the intimation 
in his speech at the opening of the session, communicated to Congress 
the state of the relations of the country with the French republic. It con- 
tained not only an able review, but an ample refutation of the various 
charges made by France, as well as a complete justification of the con- 
duct of President Washington toward that nation. This exposition, how- 
ever, created no change in the conduct of France, and produced little effect 
on the parties in America.! 

On the 4th of March, 1797, the administration of President Washington 
closed — a period to which he had looked forward with inexpressible 
pleasure. After witnessing the inauguration of his successor, he with- 
drew from Philadelphia to Mount Yernon, to spend the remainder of his 
days in retirement. 

During his administration, all the disputes between the United States 
and foreign nations had been adjusted, with the exception of those of 
France ; at home, public and private credit was restored — ample provis- 
ion made for the security and ultimate payment of the public debt — com- 
merce had experienced unexampled prosperity — American tonnage had 
nearly doubled — the products of agriculture had found a ready market — 
tlie exports had increased from nineteen millions to more than fifty-six 
millions of dollars — the imports in about the same proportion — and the 
amount of revenues from imports had exceeded the most sanguine calcU' 
lations. The prosperity of the country had been, indeed, without exam- 
ple, notwithstanding great losses from belligerent depredations. | 

At this day, the conduct and character of Washington are spoken of 
with respect and veneration by most men. We have seen several sorts 
of administration of public affairs since his time ; it is not too soon to 
consider calmly and dispassionately, the worth of that conducted by him. 

To the high responsibility of giving motion and effect to the new sys- 
tem, among discordant elements, it was the lot of Washington to be 
called. 

Was it right or wrong to provide for the payment of the public debt, 
justly called " the price of liberty V Who can answer in the negative ? 
Not to have done what was done, would have been injustice, for which 
there could have been no palliation. 

Was Washington's administration right or Avrong toward France and 
England, during their vindictive and exterminating war ? Surely, the true 
policy of this country was strict neutrality. To preserve this, the most 
forbearing and conciliatory measures were adopted toward each ; minis- 
ters were sent, and instructions given, to show that the United States 
■were, and meant to be, neutral. To the last hour of his administration, 
• Pitkin. t Ibid. % Ibid. 



78 Washington's administration. 

Washington persisted in his neutrality, and was able to countervail the 
popular clamor in favor of France. 

In the discretionary exercise of executive power, the Washington ad- 
ministration was wise and talented. In filling offices, the president pre- 
ferred, when he could, the revolutionary chiefs, of whose integrity and 
ability he had ample proofs. No one will say that such men did not de- 
serve the honors and emoluments of office, which their own perilous effiDrts 
helped to establish. He displaced no man for the expression of his opin- 
ion, even in the feverish excitement of French delusion. 

With regard to all other foreign governments ; the judiciary ; the na- 
tional bank ; the Indian tribes ; the mint ; in his deportment to his own 
ministers ; liis communications to Congress ; his construction of the con- 
stitution ; his sacred regard for it ; his devotion to the whole Union ; his 
magnanimity and forbearance ; his personal dignity ; in all these, and in 
relation to all other subjects, how great and honorable was his example !* 

* Sullivan. 



Washington's farewell address. 79 

FAREWELL ADDRESS. 

September 17 1796. 

Friends and Fellow-Citizens : — 

The period for a new election of a citizen to administer the executive 
government of the United States being not far distant, and the time actu- 
ally arrived when your thoughts must be employed in designating the per- 
son who is to be clothed with that important trust, it appears to me proper, 
especially as it may conduce to a more distinct expression of the public 
voice, that I should now apprize you of the resolution I have formed, to 
decline being considered among the number of those out of whom the 
choice is to be made. 

I beg you, at the same time, to do me the justice to be assured that this 
resolution has not been taken without a strict regard to all the considera- 
tions appertaining to the relation which binds a dutiful citizen to his coun- 
try ; and that, in withdrawing the tender of service, which silence in my 
situation might imply, I am influenced by no diminution of zeal for your 
future interest, no deficiency of respect for your past kindness, but am 
supported by a full conviction that the step is compatible with both. 

The acceptance of, and continuance hitherto in, the office to which 
your suffrages have twice called me, have been a uniform sacrifice of in- 
clination to the opinion of duty and to a deference for what appeared to be 
your desire. I constantly hoped that it would have been much earlier in 
my power, consistently with motives which I was not at liberty to disre- 
gard, to return to that retirement from which I had been reluctantly drawn. 
The strength of my inclination to do this, previous to the last election, had 
even led to the preparation of an address to declare it to you ; but mature 
reflection on the then perplexed and critical posture of affairs with foreign 
nations, and the unanimous advice of persons entitled to my confidence, 
impelled me to abandon the idea. I rejoice that the state of your con- 
cerns, external as well as internal, no longer renders the pursuit of incli- 
nation incompatible with the sentiment of duty or propriety ; and am per- 
suaded, whatever partiality may be retained for my services, that in the 
present circumstances of our country, you will not disapprove of my de- 
termination to retire. 

The impressions with which I first undertook the arduous trust were 
explained on the proper occasion. In the discharge of this trust, I will 
only say that I have, with good intentions, contributed toward the organi- 
zation and administration of the government the best exertions of which a 
very fallible judgment was capable. Not unconscious, in the outset, of 
the inferiority of my qualifications, experience in my own eyes, perhaps 
still more in the eyes of others, has strengthened the motives to diffidence 
of myself ; and every day the increasing weight of years admonishes me 
more and more that the shade of retirement is as necessary to me as it 
will be welcome. Satisfied that, if any circumstances have given pecu- 
liar value to my services, they were temporary, I have the consolation to 
believe that, while choice and prudence invite me to quit the political 
scene, patriotism does not forbid it. 

In looking forward to the moment which is to terminate the career of 
my political life, my feelings do not permit me to suspend the deep ac- 
knowledgment of that debt of gratitude which I owe to my beloved coun- 



80 Washington's farewell address. 

try for the many honors it has conferred upon me ; still more for the stead- 
fast confidence Avith which it has supported me, and for the opportunities 1 
have thence enjoyed of manifesting my inviolable attachment by services 
faithful and persevering, though in usefulness unequal to my zeal. If 
benefits have resulted to our country from these services, let it always be 
remembered to your praise, and as an instructive example in our annals, 
that under circumstances in which the passions, agitated in every direc- 
tion, were liable to mislead — amid appearances sometimes dubious — vicis- 
situdes of fortune often discouraging — in situations in which not unfre- 
quently want of success has countenanced the spirit of criticism — the 
constancy of your support was the essential prop of the efforts and a guar- 
anty of the plans by which they were effected. Profoundly penetrated 
with this idea, I shall carry it with me to my grave as a strong incitement 
to unceasing wishes that Heaven may continue to you the choicest tokens 
of its beneficence — that your union and brotherly affection may be perpetual 
— that the free constitution which is the work of your hands may be sa- 
credly maintained — that its administration in every department may be 
stamped with wisdom and virtue — that, in fine, the happiness of the peo- 
ple of these states, imder the auspices of liberty, may be made complete 
by so careful a preservation and so prudent a use of this blessing as will 
acquire to them the glory of recommending it to the applause, thetaffec- 
tion, and adoption, of every nation which is yet a stranger to it. 

Here, perhaps, I ought to stop. But a solicitude for your welfare Avhich 
can not end but with my life, and the apprehension of danger natural to 
that solicitude, urge me, on an occasion like the present, to oft'er to your 
solemn contemplation, and to recommend to your frequent review, some 
sentiments which are the result of much reflection, of no inconsiderable 
observation, and which appear to me all-important to the permanency of 
your felicity as a people. These will be offered to you with the more 
freedom, as you can only see in them the disinterested warnings of a 
parting friend, who can possibly have no personal motive to bias his coun- 
sel. Nor can I forget, as an encouragement to it, your indulgent recep- 
tion of my sentiments on a former and not dissimilar occasion. 

Interwoven as is the love of liberty with every ligament of our hearts, 
no recommendation of mine is necessary to fortify or confirm the attach- 
ment. 

The unity of government which constitutes you one people, is also now 
dear to you. It is justly so ; for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your 
real independence, the support of your tranquillity at home, your peace 
abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you 
so liighly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that from difierent causes, 
and from different quarters, much pains will be taken, many artifices em- 
ployed, to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth — as this is 
the point in your political fortress against which the batteries of internal 
and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often 
covertly and insidiously) directed — it is of infinite moment that you should 
properly estimate the immense value of your national union to your col- 
lective and individual happiness ; that you should cherish a cordial, habit- 
ual, and immovable attachment to it ; accustoming yourselves to think and to 
speak of it as a palladium of your political safety and prosperity ; watch- 
ing for its preservation with jealous anxiety ; discountenancing whatever 
may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned ; and 
indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate 



Washington's farewell address. 81 

any portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble tlie sacred ties 
which now link together the various parts. 

For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citi- 
zens by birth or choice of a common country, that country has a right to 
concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to 
you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriot- 
ism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With 
slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, 
and political principles. You have, in a common cause, fought and tri- 
umphed together. The independence and liberty you possess are the 
work of joint councils and joint efforts, of common dangers, sufferings, 
and success. 

But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves 
to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more 
immediately to your interest. Here, eveiy portion of our country finds 
the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the 
union of the whole. 

The north, in an unrestrained intercourse with the south, protected by 
the equal laws of a common government, finds in the productions of the 
latter great additional resources of maritime and commercial enterprise, 
and precious materials of manufacturing industry. The south, in the same 
intercourse, benefiting by the same agency of the north, sees its agricul- 
ture grow and its commerce expand. Turning partly into its own chan- 
nels the seamen of the north, it finds its particular navigation- invigorated ; 
and while it contributes in different ways to nourish and increase the gen- 
eral mass of the national navigation, it looks forward to the protection of a 
maritime strength to which itself is unequally adapted. The east, in like 
intercourse with the west, in the progressive improvement of interior com- 
munications by land and water, will more and more find a valuable vent 
for the commodities which it brings from abroad or manufactures at home. 
The west derives from the east supplies requisite to its growth and com- 
fort ; and what is perhaps of still greater consequence, it must of neces- 
sity owe the secure enjoyment of the indispensable outlets for its own 
productions to the weight, influence, and future maritime strength of the 
Atlantic side of the Union, directed by an indissoluble community of in- 
terest, as one nation. Any other tenure by which the west can hold this 
essential advantage, whether derived from its own separate strength, or 
from an apostate and unnatural connexion with any foreign power, must 
be intrinsically precarious. 

While, then, every part of our country thus feels an immediate and par- 
ticular interest in union, all the parts combined can not fail to find in the 
united mass of means and efforts greater strength, greater resource, pro- 
portionably greater security from external danger, a less frequent interrup- 
tion of their peace by foreign nations, and, what is of inestimable value, 
they must derive from union an exemption from those broils and wars be- 
tween themselves which so frequently afflict neighboring countries not 
tied together by the same government, which their own rivalships alone 
would be sufficient to produce, but which opposite foreign alliances, at- 
tachments, and intrigues, would stimulate and embitter. Hence, likewise, 
they will avoid the necessity of those overgrown military establishments 
which, under any form of government, are inauspicious to liberty, and 
which are to be regarded as patticularly hostile to republican liberty. In 
this sense it is that your union ought to be considered as a main prop of 
6 



82 Washington's farewell address. 

your liberty, and that tke love of the one ought to endear to you the pres- 
ervation of the other. 

These considerations speak a persuasive language to every reflecting 
and virtuous mind, and exhibit the continuance of the union as a primary 
object of patriotic desire. Is there a doubt whether a common govern- 
ment can embrace so large a sphere ? Let experience solve it. To lis- 
ten to mere speculation in such a case Avere criminal. We are authorized 
to hope that a proper organization of the whole, with the auxiliary agency 
of governments for the respective subdivisions, will afford a happy issue 
of the experiment. It is well worth a fair and full experiment. With 
such powerful and obvious motives to union, affecting all parts of our 
country, while experience shall not have demonstrated its impracticability, 
there will always be reason to distrust the patriotism of those who in any 
quarter may endeavor to weaken its bands. 

In contemplating the causes which may disturb our union, it occurs as 
matter of serious concern that any ground should have been furnished for 
characterizing parties by geographical discriminations — northern and 
southern, Atlantic and western ; whence designing men may endeavor to 
excite a belief that there is a real difference of local interests and views. 
One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular dis- 
tricts is, to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts. You 
can not shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heart-burn- 
ings which spring from these misrepresentations. They tend to render 
alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal af- 
fection. The inhabitants of our western country have lately had a useful 
lesson on this head. They have seen in the negotiation by the executive, 
and in the unanimous ratification by the senate, of the treaty with Spain, 
and in the universal satisfaction at that event throughout the United States, 
a decisive proof how unfounded were the suspicions propagated among 
them of a policy in the general government and in the Atlantic states un- 
friendly to their interests in regard to the Mississippi. They have been 
witnesses to the formation of two treaties — that with Great Britain and 
that with Spain — which secure to them everything they could desire, in 
respect to our foreign relations, toward contirming their prosperity. Will 
it not be their wisdom to rely for the preservation of these advantages on 
the union by which they were procured? Will they not henceiorth be 
deaf to those advisers, if such there are, who would sever them from 
their brethren and connect them with aliens ? 

To the efficacy and permanency of your union, a government for the 
whole is indispensable. No alliances, however strict, between the parts 
can be an adequate substitute. They must inevitably experience the in- 
fractions and interruptions which alliances in all times have experienced. 
Sensible of this momentous truth, you have improved upon your first essay 
by the adoption of a constitution of government better calculated than 
your former for an intimate union and for the efficacious management of 
your common concerns. This government, the offspring of your own 
choice, uninfluenced and unawed, adopted upon full investigation and ma- 
ture deliberation, completely free in its principles, in the distribution of its 
powers, uniting security with energy, and containing within itself provis- 
ion for its own amendment, has a just claim to your confidence and your 
support. Respect for its authorhy, compliance with its laws, acquiescence 
in its measures, are duties enjoined by the fundamental maxims of true 
liberty. The basis of our political system is, the right of the people to 



"Washington's farewell address. 83 

make and to alter their constitutions of government. But the constitution 
which at any time exists, until changed by an explicit and authentic act 
of the whole people, is sacredly obligatory upon all. The very idea of 
the power and the right of the people to establish government, presupposes 
the duty of every individual to obey the established government. 

All obstructions to the execution of the laws, all combinations and asso- 
ciations, under whatever plausible character, with the real design to direct, 
control, counteract, or awe the regular deliberations and action of the con- 
stituted authorities, are destructive of this fundamental principle, and of 
fatal tendency. They serve to organize faction ; to give it an artificial 
and extraordinary force ; to put in the place of the delegated will of the 
nation the will of party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority , 
of the community ; and according to the alternate triumphs of different 
parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted 
and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent 
and wholesome plans, digested by common councils, and modified by 
mutual interests. 

However combinations or associations of the above description may now 
and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and 
things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprin- 
cipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people, and to 
usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterward the 
very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion. 

Toward the preservation of your government and the permanency of 
your present happy state, it is requisite not only that you steadily discoun- 
tenance irregidar opposition to its acknowledged authority, but also that 
you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however 
specious the pretext. One method of assault may be to effect in the forms 
of the constitution alterations which will impair the energy of the system, 
and thus to undermine what can not be directly overthrown. In all the 
changes to Avhich you may be invited, remember that time and habit are 
at least as necessary to fix the true character of governments as of other 
human institutions ; that experience is the surest standard by which to 
test the real tendency of the existing constitutions of a country ; that fa- 
cility in changes upon the credit of mere hypothesis and opinion exposes 
to perpetual change, from the endless variety of hypothesis and opinion ; 
and remember especially, that from the efhcient management of your 
common interests, in a country so extensive as ours, a government of as 
much vigor as is consistent with the perfect security of liberty is indis- 
pensable. Liberty itself will find in such a government, with powers 
properly distributed and adjusted, its surest guardian. It is, indeed, little 
else than a name, where the government is too feeble to withstand the 
enterprises of faction, to confine each member of society within the limits 
prescribed by the laws, and to maintain all in the secure and tranquil 
enjoyment of the rights of person and property. 

I have already intimated to you the danger of parties in the state, with 
particular reference to the founding of them upon geographical discrimina- 
tions. Let me now take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in 
the most solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of party 
generally. 

This spirit, imfortunately, is inseparable from our nature, having its root 
in the strongest passions of the human mind. It exists under different 
shapes in all governments, more or less stifled, controlled, or repressed ; 



84 Washington's farewell address. 

but in tliose of the popular form, it is seen in its greatest rankness, and is 
truly their worst enemy. 

The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the 
spirit of revenge natural to party dissension, Avhich in different ages and 
countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful 
despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent des- 
potism. The disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline the 
minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an in- 
dividual ; and sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more 
able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the 
purposes of his own elevation on the ruins of the public liberty. 

Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind, which neverthe- 
less ought not to be entirely out of. sight, the common and continual mis- 
chiefs of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty 
of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. 

It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public 
administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and 
false alarms ; kindles the animosity of one part against another ; foments 
occasional riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence 
and corruption, which tinds a facilitated access to the government itself 
through the channels of party passion. Thus the policy and will of one 
country are subjected to the policy and will of another. 

There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon 
the administration of the government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of 
liberty. This, within certain limits, is probably true ; and in governments 
of a monarchical cast, patriotism may look with indulgence, if not with 
favor, upon the spirit of party. But in those of popular character, in gov- 
ernments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. From the 
natural tendency, it is certain there will always be enough of that spirit 
for every salutary purpose ; and there being constant danger of excess, 
the effort ought to be by force of public opinion to mitigate and assuage it. 
A fire not to be quenched, it demands a uniform vigilance to prevent its 
bursting into a flame, lest, instead of wanning, it should consume. 

It is important, likewise, that the habits of thinking in a free country 
should inspire caution in those intrusted with its administration to con- 
fine themselves within their respective constitutional spheres, avoiding, in 
the exercise of the powers of one department, to encroach upon another. 
The spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all the de- 
partments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a 
real despotism. A just estimate of that love of power and proneness to 
abuse it which predominate in the human heart, is sufiicient to satisfy us 
of the truth of this position. The necessity of reciprocal checks in the 
exercise of political power, by dividing and distributing it into different 
depositories, and constituting each the guardian of the public weal against 
invasions of the other, has been evinced by experiments ancient and 
modern — some of them in our country, and under our own eyes. To 
preserve them must be as necessary as to institute them. If, in the opin- 
ion of the people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional pow- 
ers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the 
way in which the constitution desig-nates. But let there be no change by 
usurpation ; for though this in one instance may be the instrument of good, 
it is the customary weapon by which free governments are destroyed. 



Washington's farewell address. 85 

The precedent must always greatly overbalance in permanent evil any 
partial or transient benefit which the use can at any time yield. 

Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, re- 
ligion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man 
claim the tribute of patriotism who should labor to subvert these great pil- 
lars of human happiness — these firmest props of the duties of men and 
citizens. The mere politician, equally with the pious man, ought to re- 
spect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connexion 
with private and public felicity. Let it be simply asked, where is the 
security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obli- 
gation desert the oaths which are the instruments of investigation in courts 
of justice ? And let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality 
can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the 
influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and 
experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in 
exclusion of religious principles. 

It is substantially true that virtue or morality is a necessary spring of 
popular government. The rule indeed extends with more or less force to 
every species of free government. Who that is a sincere friend to it can 
look with indifference upon attempts to shake the foundation of the fabric ? 
Promote, then, as an object of primary importance, institutions for the 
general diffusion of knowledge. In proportion%s the structure of a gov- 
ernment gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion 
should be enlightened. 

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public 
credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible, 
avoiding occasions of expense by cultivating peace, but remembering, also, 
that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much 
greater disbursements to repel it ; avoiding likewise the accumulation of 
debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense, but by vigorous exer- 
tions in time of peace to discharge the debts which unavoidable wars have 
occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burden which 
we ourselves ought to bear. The execution of these maxims belongs to 
your representatives ; but it is necessary that public opinion should co- 
operate. To facilitate to them the performance of their duty, it is essen- 
tial you should practically bear in mind that toward the payment of debts 
there must be revenue ; that to have revenue there must be taxes ; that 
no taxes can be devised which are not more or less inconvenient and 
unpleasant ; that the intrinsic embarrassment inseparable from the selec- 
tion of the proper objects, which is always a choice of difficulties, ought 
to be a decisive motive for a candid construction of the conduct of the 
government in making it, and for a spirit of acquiescence in the measures 
for obtaining revenue which* the public exigencies may at anytime dictate. 

Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace 
and harmony with all. Religion and morality enjoin this conduct ; and 
can it be that good policy does not equally enjoin it ? It will be worthy 
of a free, enlightened, and, at no distant period, a great nation, to give to 
mankind the magnanimous and too novel example of a people always 
guided by an exalted justice and benevolence. Who can doubt that in 
the course of time and things the fruits of such a plan would richly re- 
pay any temporary advantages that might be lost by a steady adherence 
to it ? Can it be that Providence has connected the permanent felicity of 
a nation with its virtue 1 The experiment, at least, is recommended by 



86 Washington's farewell address. 

every sentiment which ennobles human nature. Alas ! it is rendered im- 
possible by its vices. 

In the execution of such a plan, nothing is more essential than that per- 
manent, inveterate antipathies against particular nations, and passionate at- 
tachments for others, should be excluded ; and that in the place of them, 
just and amicable feelings toward all should be cultivated. The nation 
which indulges toward another an habitual hatred or an habitual fondness, 
is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, 
either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. 
Antipathy in one nation against another disposes each more readily to offer 
insult and injury, to lay hold of slight causes of umbrage, and to be haughty 
and intractable when accidental or trifling occasions of dispute occur. 

Hence, frequent collisions and obstinate, envenomed, and bloody con- 
tests. The nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels 
to war the government contrary to the best calculations of policy. The 
government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts 
through passion what reason would reject. At other times, it makes the 
animosity of the nation subservient to the projects of hostility, instigated by 
pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace 
often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of nations has been the victim. 

So, likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces 
a variety of evils. S)nnp#thy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion 
of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest 
exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former 
into a participation in the quarrels and the wars of the latter without ade- 
quate inducements or justification. It leads, also, to concessions to the 
favorite nation of privileges denied to others, which are apt doubly to injure 
the nation making the concessions, by unnecessarily parting with what 
ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a dis- 
position <to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are with- 
held ; and it gives to ambitious, corrupt, or deluded citizens, who devote 
themselves to the favorite nation, facility to betray or sacrifice the interests 
of their own country without odium, sometimes even with popularity, gild- 
ing with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation to a commend- 
able deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the 
base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation. 

As avenues to foreign influence in innumerable ways, such attachments 
are particularly alarming to the truly enlightened and independent patriot. 
How many opportunities do they allbrd to tamper with domestic factions, 
to practise the arts of seduction, to mislead pviblie opinion, to influence or 
awe the public councils ! Such an attachment of a small or weak nation 
toward a great and powerful one, dooms the former to be the satellite of 
the latter. Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, I conjure you 
to believe me, fellow-citizens, the jealousy of a free people ought to be 
constantly awake, since history and experience prove that foreign influence 
is one of the most baneful foes of republican government. But that jeal- 
ousy, to be useful, must be impartial, else it becomes the instrument of the 
very influence to be avoided, instead of a defence against it. Excessive 
partiality for one foreign nation, and excessive dislike for another, cause 
those whom they actuate to see danger only on one side, and serve to veil 
and even second the. arts of influence on the other. Real patriots, who 
may resist the intrigues of the favorite, are liable to become suspected and 
odious, while its tools and dupes usurp the applause and confidence of the 
people to surrender their iutertsts. 



WASHINGTON S FAREWELL ADDRESS. 87 

The great rule of conduct for us in regard to foreign nations is, in ex- 
tending our commercial relations, to have with them as little political con- 
nexion as possible. So far as we have already formed engagements, let 
them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop. 

Europe has a set of primary interests which to us have none or a very 
remote relation. Hence, she must be engaged in frequent controversies, 
the causes of which are essentially foreign to our concerns. Hence, 
therefore, it must be unwise in us to implicate ourselves by artificial ties in 
the ordinary vicissitudes of her politics, or the ordinary combinations and 
collisions of her friendships or enmities. 

Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a 
different course. If we remain one people, under an efficient government, 
the period is not far off when we may defy material injury from external 
annoyance ; when we may take such an attitude as will cause the neutral- 
ity we may at any time resolve upon to be scrupulously respected ; when 
belligerent nations, under the impossibility of making acquisitions upon us, 
will not lightly hazard the giving us provocation ; when we may choose 
peace or war as our interests, guided by justice, shall counsel. 

Why forego the advantages of so peculiar a situation 1 Why quit our 
ovra to stand on foreign ground ? Why, by interweaving our destiny with 
that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity in the toils 
of European ambition, rivalship, interest, humor, or caprice ? 

It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any por- 
tion of the foreign world, so far, I mean, as we are now at liberty to do it ; 
for let me not be understood as capable of patronising infidelity to existing 
engagements. I hold the maxim no less applicable to public than to pri- 
vate affairs, that honesty is always the best policy. I repeat, therefore, 
let those engagements be observed in their genuine sense. But in my 
opinion, it is unnecessary and would be unwise to extend them. 

Taking care always to keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a 
respectable defensive posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances 
for extraordinary emergencies. 

Harmony and a liberal intercourse with all nations are recommended by 
policy, humanity, and interest. But even our commercial pohcy should 
hold an equal and impartial hand ; neither seeking nor granting exclusive 
favors or preferences ; consulting the natural course of things ; diffusing 
and diversifying by gentle means the stream of commerce, but forcing 
nothing ; establishing with powers so disposed (in order to give trade a 
stable course, to define the rights of our merchants, to enable the govern- 
ment to support them) conventional rules of intercourse, the best that 
present circumstances and natural opinion will permit, but temporary and 
liable to be from time to time abandoned or varied as experience and cir- 
cumstances shall dictate ; constantly keeping in view that it is folly in one 
nation to look for disinterested favors from another — that it must pay with 
a portion of its independence for whatever it may accept under that char- 
acter — that by such acceptance it may place itself in the condition of hav- 
ing given equivalents for nominal favors, and yet of being reproached with 
ingratitude for not having given more. There can be no greater error than 
to expect or calculate upon real favors from nation to nation. It is an illu- 
sion which experience must cure, which a just pride ought to discard. 

In offering to you, my countrymen, these counsels of an old affectionate 
friend, I dare not hope they will make the strong and lasting impression I 
could wish — that they will control the usual current of the passions, or 



88 Washington's farewell address. 

prevent our nation from running the coiirse which has hitherto marked the 
destiny of nations. But if I may even flatter myself that they may be 
productive of some partial benefit, some occasional good — that they may 
now and then recur to moderate the fury of party spirit, to warn against 
the mischiefs of foreign intrigue, to guard against the impostures of pre- 
tended patriotism — this hope will be a full recompense for the solicitude 
for your welfare by which they have been dictated. 

How far in the discharge of my official duties I have been gTiided by 
the principles which have been delineated, the public records and the 
other evidences of my conduct must witness to you and to the world. To 
myself, the assurance of my own conscience is, that I have at least 
believed myself to be guided by them. 

In relation to the still subsisting war in Europe, my proclamation of the 
22d of April, 1793, is the index to my plan. Sanctioned by yoTir ap- 
proving voice, and by that of your representatives in both houses of Con- 
gress, the spirit of that measure has continually governed me, uninfluenced 
by any attempts to deter or divert me from it. 

After deliberate examination, with the aid of the best lights I could 
obtain, I was well satisfied that our country, under all the circumstances 
of the case, had a right to take, and was bound in duty and interest to 
take, a neutral position. Having taken it, I determined, as far as should de- 
pend upon me, to maintain it with moderation, perseverance, and firmness. 

The considerations which respect the right to hold this conduct, it is 
not necessary on this occasion to detail. I will only observe, that ac- 
cording to my understanding of the matter, that right, so far from being de- 
nied by any of the belligerent powers, has been virtually admitted by all. 

The duty of holding a neutral conduct may "he inferred, without any- 
thing more, from the obligation which justice and humanity impose on 
every nation, in cases in which it is free to act, to maintain inviolate the 
relations of peace and amity toward other nations. 

The inducements of interest for observing that conduct will best be re- 
ferred to your own reflections and experience. With me, a predominant 
motive has been to endeavor to gain time to our country to settle and 
mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress without interruption to 
that degree of strength and constancy wliich it is necessary to give it, 
humanly speaking, the command of its own fortune. 

Though in reviewing the incidents of my administration I am tmcon- 
scious of intentional error, I am nevertheless too sensible of my defects 
not to think it probable that I may have committed many errors. What- 
ever they may be, I fervently beseech the Almighty to avert or mitigate 
the evils to which they may tend. I shall also carry with me the hope 
that my country will never cease to view them with indulgence, and that, 
after forty-five years of my life dedicated to its service with an upright 
zeal, the faults of incompetent abilities will be consigned to oblivion, as 
myself must soon be to the mansions of rest. 

Relying on its kindness in this as in other things, and actuated by that 
fervent love toward it which is so natural to a man who views in it the 
native soil of himself and his progenitors for several generations, I an- 
ticipate with pleasing expectations that retreat in which I promise myself 
to realize without alloy the sweet enjoyment of partaking in the midst of 
my fellow-citizens the benign influence of good laws under a free gov- 
ernment — the ever favorite object of my heart, and the happy reward, as 
I trust, of our mutual cares, labors, and dangers. 




i^lyTBjLLcTlfroai aVaiaoi^^lrf G.StiiiiTt 



n 




BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



JOHN ADAMS 



John Adams, the second president of the United States, was bom on the 
19th of October (old style), 1735, in that part of the town of Braintree, in Mas- 
sachusetts (near Boston) which has since been incorporated by the name 
of Quincy. He was the fourth in descent from Henry Adams, who fled 
from persecution in Devonshire, England, and settled in Massachusetts, 
about the year 1630. Another of the ancestors of Mr. Adams was John 
Alden, one of the pilgrim founders of the Plymouth colony in 1620. Re- 
ceiving his early education in his native toviTi, John Adams, in 1751, was 
admitted a member of Harvard college, at Cambridge, where he graduated 
in regular course, four years afterward. On leaving college he Avent to 
Worcester, for the purpose of studying law, and at the same time to sup- 
port himself, according to the usage at that time in New England, by teaching 
in the grammar-school of that town. He studied law with James Putnam, 
a barrister of eminence, by whom he was afterward introduced to the ac- 
quaintance of Jeremy Gridley, then attorney-general of the province, who 
proposed him to the court for admission to the bar of Suffolk county, in 
1758, and gave him access to his library, which was then one of the best 
in America. 

Mr. Adams commenced the practice of his profession in his native tOAvn, 
and, by travelling the circuits with the court, became well known in that 
part of the country. In 1766, by the advice of Mr. Gridley, he removed 
to Boston, where he soon distinguished himself at the bar, by his superior 
talents as counsel and advocate. At an earlier period of his life, his 
thoughts had begun to turn on general politics, and the prospects of 
his country engaged his attention. Soon after leaving college, he wrote 
a letter to a friend, dated at Worcester, the 12th of October, 1755, 
which evinces so remarkable a foresight that it is fortunate it has been 
presei*ved. We make the following extracts : " Soon after the reforma- 
tion, a few people came over into this new world, for conscience' sake. 



90 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 

Perhaps this apparently trivial incident may transfer the great seat of em- 
pire into America. It looks likely to me, if we can remove the turbulent 
Gallics, our people, according to the exactest computation, will, in an- 
other centuiy, become more numerous than England herself. The only 
way to keep us from setting up for ourselves, is to disunite us. Divide et 
impera. Keep us in distinct colonies, and then some great men in each 
colony, desiring the monarchy of the whole, will destroy each other's 
influence, and keep the country in equilibrio. Be not surprised that 
I am turned politician ; the whole town is immersed in politics. I sit and 
hear, and, after being led through a maze of sage observations, I some- 
times retire and, by laying things together, form some reflections pleasing 
to myself. The produce of one of these reveries you have read above." 
Mr. Webster observes : " It is remarkable that the author of this prognos- 
tication should live to see fulfilled to the letter what could have seemed to 
others, at the time, but the extravagance of youthful fancy. His earliest 
political feelings were thus strongly American, and from this ardent at- 
tachment to his native soil he never departed." 

In 1764, he married Abigail Smith, daughter of Rev. William Smith, of 
Weymouth, and grand-daughter of Colonel Quincy, a lady of uncommon 
endowments and excellent education. He had previously imbibed a 
prejudice against the prevailing religious opinions of New England, and 
became attached to speculations hostile to those opinions. Nor were his 
views afterward changed. In his religious sentiments he accorded with 
Doctor Bancroft, a unitarian minister of Worcester, of whose printed ser- 
mons he expressed his high approbation. In 1765, Mr. Adams published 
an essay on canon and feudal law, the object of which was to show the 
conspiracy between church and state for the purpose of oppressing the 
people. 

In 1770, he was chosen a representative, from the town of Boston, in 
the legislature of Massachusetts. The same year he was one of the 
counsel who defended Captain Preston, and the British soldiers who fired at 
his order, upon the inhabitants of Boston. Captain Preston was acquitted, 
and Mr. Adams lost no favor with his fellow-citizens by engaging in this 
trial. As a member of the legislature, he opposed the royal governor, 
Hutchinson, in his measures, and also wrote against the British govern- 
ment in the newspapers. In 1774, he was elected a member of the Mas- 
sachusetts council, and negatived by Governor Gage. In this ana the 
next year, he wrote on the whig side the numbers called " Nov Anglus," 
in reply to essays, signed " Massachusitensis," in favor of the British gov- 
ernment, by Sewall, the attorney-general. The same year he was ap- 
pointed a member of the continental congress, from Massachusetts, and in 
that body, which met at Philadelphia, he became one of the most efiicient 
and able advocates of liberty. In the Congress which met in May, 1775, 
he again took his seat, having been reappointed as a delegate. In 1775 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 91 

he seconded the nomination of Washington as commander-in-chief of the 
army, and in July, 1776, he was the adviser and great supporter of the 
declaration of independence. It was reported by a committee composed 
of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, 
and Robert R. Livingston. During the same year, he, with Doctor Frank- 
lin and Edward Rutledge, was deputed to treat with Lord Howe for the 
pacification of the colonies. He declined, at this time, the offer of the 
office of chief justice of the supreme court of Massachusetts. 

In December, 1777, Mr. Adams was appointed a commissioner to the 
court of France, in place of Silas Deane, who was recalled. He em- 
barked in the 'frigate Boston, in February, 1778. On his arrival in France 
he found a treaty of amity and commerce, also a treaty of alliance, had 
been already signed, and, after Doctor Franklin received from Congress 
the appointment of minister plenipotentiary, Mr. Adams returned to the 
United States, in the summer of 1779. 

Immediately after his return he was chosen a member of the Massachu- 
setts convention for framing the new state constitution. He accepted a 
seat in that body, and his plan for a constitution being reported by a com- 
mittee of which he was a member, was, in most of its important features, 
adopted by the convention. 

During the time when he was attending to the business of the Massa- 
chusetts convention. Congress resolved to appoint a minister plenipoten- 
tiary for negotiating a treaty of peace with Great Britain. On the 29th of 
September, 1779, Mr. Adams received this appointment, and sailed in the 
French frigate La Sensible, in November. He landed at Ferrol, in Spain, 
and arrived in Paris in February, 1780. In August he repaired to Am- 
sterdam, having previously been instructed to procure loans in Holland, 
and soon afterward receiving power to negotiate a treaty of amity and 
commerce. In 1782 he effected a loan for eight millions of guilders, also 
negotiated a very favorable treaty with Holland, which nation recognised 
the United States as free, sovereign, and independent. 

In 1781 Mr. Adams was associated by Congress with Franklin, Jay, 
Laurens, and Jefferson, in a commission for concluding treaties of peace 
with the several European powers ; and in 1783 he was associated with 
Franklin and Jay for the purpose of negotiating a commercial treaty with 
Great Britain. The definitive treaty of peace with Great Britain was 
signed on the 3d of September, 1783, by Messrs. Adams, Franklin, and 
Jay ; the provisional treaty had been signed by the same commissioners, 
with Mr. Laurens, on the 30th of November, 1782. 

During part of the year 1784, Mr. Adams remained in Holland, and 
returned to France, where he joined his associates appointed by Congress 
to negotiate commercial treaties with foreign nations. An extensive plan 
of operations for commercial conventions was formed, but not carried out. 

In January, 1785, Congress appointed Mr. Adams minister to represent 



92 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 

the United States at the court of Great Britain, an office at that time 
deemed peculiarly delicate and interesting. Although his reception by 
the king was favorable and courteous, Mr. Adams found the British min- 
istry cold and unfriendly toward the United States, and he was, therefore, 
unable to negotiate a commercial treaty with that nation. In other re- 
spects, however, he rendered valuable services to his country, and, be- 
sides assisting in forming treaties with Prussia and Morocco, he wrote, 
while in Europe, an elaborate and eloquent defence of the forms of gov- 
ernment established in the United States, in reply to strictures advanced 
by Mr. Turgot, the Abbe de Mably, Dr. Price, and other European writers. 
Immediately after the publication of this work, Mr. Adams, asked permis- 
sion to resign and return, and in June, 1788, he arrived in his native 
land, after an absence of between eight and nine years. 

The services of Mr. Adams in the cause of his country, at home and 
abroad, during the period to which we have referred, it is believed, were 
not excelled by those of any other of the patriots of the revolution. In the 
language of one of his eulogists (Mr. J. E. Sprague, of Massachusetts) : 
" Not a hundred men in the country could have been acquainted with any 
part of the labors of Mr. Adams — they appeared anonymously, or under 
assumed titles ; they were concealed in the secret conclaves of Congress, 
or the more secret cabinets of princes. Such services are never known 
to the public ; or, if known, only in history, when the actors of the day 
have passed from the stage, and the motives for longer concealment cease 
to exist. As we ascend the mount of history, and rise above the vapors 
of party prejudice, we shall all acknowledge that we owe our independ- 
ence more to John Adams than to any other created being, and that he 
was the Great Leader of the American Revolution." 

When permission was given him to return from Europe, the continental 
Congress adopted the following resolution : " Resolved, that Congress en- 
tertain a high sense of the services which Mr. Adams has rendered to the 
United States, in the execution of the various important trusts which they 
have from time to time committed to him ; and that the thanks of Congress be 
presented to him for the patriotism, perseverance, integrity, and diligence, 
with which he has ably and faithfully served his country." Such was the 
testimonial of his country, expressed through the national councils, at the 
tennination of his revolutionary and diplomatic career. 

During the absence of Mr. Adams in Europe, the constitution of the 
United States had been formed and adopted. He highly approved of its 
provisions, and on his return, when it was about to go into operation, he 
was selected by the friends of the constitution to be placed on the ticket 
with Washington as a candidate for one of the two highest offices in the 
gift of the people. He was consequently elected vice-president, and on 
the assembling of the senate, he took his seat as president of that body, at 
New York, in April, 1789. Having been re-elected to that office in 1792, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 93 

he held it, and presided in the senate, with great dignity, during the en- 
tire period of Washington's administration, whose confidence he enjoyed, 
and by whom he was consulted on important questions. In his valedic- 
tory address to the senate, he remarks : " It is a recollection of which 
nothing can ever deprive me, and it will be a source of comfort to me 
through the remainder of my life, that on the one hand, I have for eight 
years held the second situation under our constitution, in perfect and unin- 
terrupted harmony with the first, without envy in the one, or jealousy in 
the other, so, on the other hand, I have never had the smallest misunder- 
standing with any member of the senate." 

In 1790, Mr. Adams wrote his celebrated "Discourses on Davila ;" 
they were anonymously published, at first, in the Gazette of the United 
States, of Philadelphia, in a series of numbers ; they may be considered 
as a sequel to his " Defence of the American Constitutions." He was a 
decided friend and patron of literature and the arts, and while in Europe, 
having obtained much information on the subject of public institutions, he 
contributed largely to the advancement of establishments in his native 
state, for the encouragement of arts, sciences, and letters. 

On the retirement of General Washington from the presidency of the 
United States, Mr. Adams was elected his successor, after a close and 
spirited contest with two rivals for that high office ; Mr. Jeff"erson being 
supported by the democratic or republican party, while a portion of the 
federal party preferred Mr. Thomas Pinckney, of South Carolina, who 
was placed on the ticket with Mr. Adams. The result, as we have sta- 
ted, in our notice of Washington's administration, was the election of Mr. 
Adams as president, and Mr. Jefferson as vice-president, and in March, 
1797, they entered upon their duties in those offices. 

On meeting the senate, as their presiding officer, Mr. Jeff*erson re- 
marked, that the duties of the chief magistracy had been "justly con- 
fided to the eminent character who preceded him, whose talents and integ- 
rity," he added, " have been known and revered by me through a long 
term of years ; have been the foundation of a cordial and uninterrupted 
friendship between us ; and I devoutly pray that he may be long preserved 
for the government, the happiness, and prosperity of our country." The 
senate adopted an address taking leave of Mr. Adams, after he had presi- 
ded over them for eight years, with the strongest expressions of respect 
and attachment. 

The administration of Mr. Adams we shall have occasion to notice in 
another place. He came to the presidency in a stormy time. In the lan- 
guage of Colonel Knapp, "the French revolution had just reached its 
highest point of settled delirium, after some of the paroxysms of its fury 
had passed away. The people of the United States took sides, some ap- 
proving, others deprecating, the course pursued by France. Mr. Adams 
wished to preserve a neutrality, but found this quite impossible. A navy 



94 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 

was raised, with surprising promptitude, to prevent insolence, and to chas- 
tise aggression. It had the desired eflect, and France was taught that 
the Americans were friends in peace, but were not fearful of war when it 
could not be averted. When the historian shall come to this page of our 
history, he will .do justice to the sagacity, to the spirit, and to the integ- 
rity of Mr. Adams, and will find that he had more reasons, and good ones, 
for his conduct, than his friends or enemies ever gave him." 

In his course of public policy, when war with France was expected, 
he was encouraged by addresses from all quarters, and by the approving 
voice of Washington. He, however, gave dissatisfaction to many of his 
own political party, in his final attempts to conciliate France, and in his 
removal of two members of his cabinet, toward the close of his adminis- 
tration. Under these circumstances, notwithstanding Mr. Adams was the 
candidate of the federal party for re-election as president, and received 
their faithful support, it is not strange that his opponents, with the advan- 
tage in their favor of the superior popularity of Mr. Jefferson, succeeded 
in defeating him. For this event, the correspondence of Mr. Adams 
shows that he was prepared, and he left the arduous duties of chief mag- 
istrate probably with less of disappointment than his enemies had ex- 
pected. 

Immediately after Mr. Jefferson had succeeded to the presidency, in 
1801, Mr. Adams retired to his estate at Quincy, in Massachusetts, and 
passed the remainder of his days in literary and scientific leisure, though 
occasionally addressing various communications to the public. He gave 
his support generally to the administration of Mr. Jefferson, and the 
friendship between these distinguished men was revived by a corre- 
spondence, and continued for several years previous to their death. When 
the disputes with Great Britain eventuated in war, Mr. Adams avowed his 
approbation of that measure, and in 1815 he saw the second treaty of 
peace concluded with that nation, by a commission of which his son was 
at the head, as he had been himself in that commission which formed the 
treaty of 1783. 

In 1816, the republican party in Massachusetts, which had once ve- 
hemently opposed him as president of the United States, paid him the 
compliment of placing his name at the head of their list of presidential 
electors. In 1820, he was chosen a member of the state convention to 
revise the constitution of Massachusetts, which body unanimously soli- 
cited him to act as their president. This he declined, on account of his 
age, but he was complimented by a vote of the convention acknowledging 
his great services, for a period of more than half a century, in the cause 
of his country and of mankind. 

In 1818, he had lost, by her death, his amiable and faithful consort, 
who had for so many years shared his anxieties and fortunes. His only 
daughter, Mrs. Smith, died in 1813. These ladies were distinguished 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 95 

through life as among the most excellent and talented of American fe- 
males. The heroic spirit of Mrs. Adams is shown in a striking light in 
a letter from her to a friend in London, dated in 1777 ; Ave give the fol- 
lowing extract : " Heaven is our witness, that we do not rejoice in the 
effusion of blood ; but having forced us to draw the sword, we are deter- 
mined never to sheathe it slaves of Britain. Our cause is, I trust, the 
cause of truth and justice, and will finally prevail, though the combined 
force of earth and hell shall rise against them. To this cause I have sac- 
rificed much of my own personal happiness, by giving up to the councils 
of America one of my nearest connexions, and living for more than three 
years in a state of Avidowhood." 

The last years of the long life of Mr. Adams Avere peaceful and tran- 
quil. His mansion was ahvays the abode of elegant hospitality, and he 
Avas occasionally enlivened by visits from his distinguished son, who, in 

1825, he had the singular felicity of seeing elevated to the oflice of pres- 
ident of the United States. At length, having lived to a good old age, he 
expired, surrounded by his affectionate relatives, on the fourth of July, 

1826, the fiftieth anniversary of that independence which he had done so 
much to achieve. A short time before his death, being asked to suggest a 
toast for the customary celebration, he replied, " I will give you — Inde- 
pendence for ever." It is known that Mr. Jefferson died on the same 
day — a most remarkable dispensation of Providence. A similar coinci- 
dence occurred five years afterward, in the death of President Monroe, 
July 4, 1831. 

Mr. Adams was of middle stature, and full person, and when elected 
president, he was bald on the top of his head. His countenance beamed 
with intelligence, and moral as well as physical courage. His walk was 
firm and dignified, to a late period of his life. His manner was slow and 
deliberate, unless he was excited, and when this happened, he expressed 
himself with great energy. He was ever a man of purest morals, and is 
said to have been a firm believer in Christianity, not from habit and ex- 
ample, but from diligent investigation of its proofs. 

To use the words of a political friend of his (Mr. Sullivan) : " He had 
an uncompromising regard for his own opinion ; and seemed to have sup- 
posed that his opinions could not be corrected by those of other men, nor 
bettered by any comparison. It is not improbable that Mr. Adams Avas 
impatient in finding how much the more easily understood services of 
military men were appreciated, than Avere the secluded, though no less 
important ones, of diplomatic agency and cabinet council. So made up, 
from natural propensities, and from the circumstances of his life, Mr. 
Adams came to the presidency at the time when more forbearance and 
discretion were required than he is supposed to have had. He seems 
to have been deficient in the rare excellence of attempting to see him- 
self as others saAv him ; and he ventured to act as though everybody 



96 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN ADAMS. 

saw as he saw himself. He considered only what was right in his 
own view ; and that was to be carried by main force, whatever were the 
obstacles." 

But whatever may be the judgment of posterity as to his merits as a 
ruler, there can be no question on the subject of his general character — 
nor of his penetrating mind — his patriotism, and his devotion to what he 
considered the true interests of liis country. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 



The inauguration of John Adams, as the second president of the Uni- 
ted Sta.tes, took place in Congress Hall, at Philadelphia, on the fourth of 
March, 1797, in the presence of a large concourse of people, among whom 
were General Washington, the vice-president elect, the heads of depart- 
ments, many members of Congress, foreign ministers, and other distin- 
guished persons. Mr. Adams, who was then in his 62d year, was dressed 
in a full suit of pearl-colored broadcloth ; with powdered hair. Before the 
oath of office was administered to the new president, by Chief- Justice 
Ellsworth, he delivered his inaugural address ; the sentiments and style 
of which produced a favorable impression upon the people. 

The retirement of General Washington was a cause of sincere rejoic- 
ing among those of his countrymen who had opposed his administration. 
In France it was an event long desired and cordially welcomed. On the 
other hand, many of the political friends of Washington, in view of the 
situation of the country, considered the loss of his personal influence a 
public calamity. But, as his successor was known to entertain similar 
views of public policy, great hopes were felt for the success of the new 
administration. 

Mr. Adams continued in office the same cabinet which had been left by 
President Washington, namely : Timothy Pickering, secretary of state ; 
Oliver Wolcott, secretary of the treasury ; James M'Henry, secretary of 
war ; and Charles Lee, attorney- general ; these gentlemen being all of the 
federal party. The navy department was not established until 1798, 
when Benjamin Stoddert, of Maryland, was appointed secretary of the 
navy, George Cabot, of Massachusetts, having declined the office. 

The afl"airs of the United States with France, received the early atten- 
tion of President Adams. The American minister to that republic, 
Charles C. Pinckney, had been expelled from their territory by the 
French rulers, who also issued new orders for depredations upon Ameri- 
can commerce, more unjust and injurious than their former decrees. The 
president thought the state of affairs demanded the immediate considera- 
tion of Congress, and he therefore called that body together on the fif- 
teenth of May, 1797. 



98 ADMINISTRATION OP JOHN ADAMS. 

There was a decided federal majority in each branch of the national 
legislature. Jonathan Dayton, of New Jersey, was again elected speaker 
of the house of representatives ; which body, as well as the senate, re- 
sponded to the president's speech in terms of approval. Several mem- 
bers, who were generally found in the opposition, voted in favor of reso- 
lutions for supporting the honor of the country, in consequence of the 
insulting conduct of the French government. 

The administratioji and a majority in Congress, were still desirous of 
maintaining a neutral position, and an act was passed, in June, 1797, to 
prevent American citizens from fitting out or employing privateers against 
nations at peace with the United States. The exportation of arms and 
ammunitioii was also prohibited, and the importation of the same encour- 
aged by law. The president was authorized to call out the militia to the 
number of eighty thousand, and to accept of the services of volunteers. 
At the same time, Congiress provided for a small naval force, but not suf- 
ficient to meet the views of the president. 

To provide means for extra expenses, to be incurred for measures of 
national defence, duties were imposed on stamped paper, and parchment, 
used for business purposes ; an additional duty was also laid on salt, 
while a drawback was allowed on salt provisions and pickled fish export- 
ed. The stamp act proved an unpopular measure. This special session 
of the fifth Congress was adjourned on the 10th of July, 1797. 

The president having intimated to Congress that h^ should make a new 
attempt to conciliate France, appointed, with the advice and consent of the 
senate, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Mar- 
shall, special envoys to that republic, with very ample powers. These 
gentlemen met at Paris, in October, 1797, and promptly attempted to ex- 
ecute their commission. The scenes which followed were well calculated 
to excite the indignation of the Americans. 

The French government employed unofficial individuals to confer with 
the envoys, those individuals using, instead of their names, which were 
■then unknown, the letters X. Y. Z., and in this way the intercourse 
with the American ministers was carried on. Attempts were made to 
■detach the envoys from each other, and to learn the separate views of 
each, by secret interviews. Two of the ministers, Messrs. Pinckney 
and Marshall, were soon satisfied that no treaty could be made with 
France which would be honorable to the United States, and they re- 
quested of President Adams leave to return. They were soon ordered 
by the French government to quit France, while Mr. Gerry was invited 
to remain, and did so ; not returning to the United States until October 
following. 

When the despatches from the envoys were made public in the United 
States, they excited very general indignation, particularly when it was 
known that the French negotiators had demanded money of the United States, 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 99 

as the price of peace. The people responded to the sentiment of Mr. 
Pinckney on the occasion, " Millions for defence, but not a cent for trib- 
ute." Mr. Gerry was severely censured for not having left France with 
his colleagues. There is no doubt that he meant well, and that he sup- 
posed his better standing with the French rulers would enable him to 
effect the purposes of his mission. After finding his mistake, he was 
compelled to withdraw, on receiving instructions from the president, with- 
out, of course, effecting anything. 

The fifth Congress reassembled at Philadelphia, on the 13th of Novem- 
ber, 1797, and continued in session until the 16th of July, 1798, a period 
of 247 days, or over eight months. Many important laws were passed — 
among which were those for the protection of navigation, for maintaining 
neutrality, for the defence of the seacoast, by the fortification of Boston, 
Newport, New York, Bahimore, Norfolk, Charleston, and Savannah ; and 
for an additional land and naval force ; also for a loan, which was nego- 
tiated at eight per cent, interest, and a direct tax on real estate, to meet 
the extra expenses of these measures of defence. There was an appre- 
hension on the part of a ' majority in Congress, that the French govern- 
ment, elated by the success of their arms in Europe, might attempt an in- 
vasion of the United States. At this time French ships-of-war were dep- 
redating on American commerce, and decrees Avere issued by the French 
directory, subjecting to seizure all American vessels having on board Brit- 
ish goods or products, or which had sailed from British ports. An act of 
Congress was passed, in June, 1798, to suspend the commercial inter- 
course between the United States and France and her possessions. Mer- 
chant ships were authorized, under certain restrictions, to be armed in their 
voyages either to the West Indies or to Europe. A regular and permanent 
army was ordered to be raised, and the president was authorized to organize 
twelve additional regiments of infantry, and one regiment each of cavalry, 
artillery, and engineers, to serve during the difficulties with France. The 
president was also vested with power to build, purchase, or hire, twelve 
vessels, of twenty guns each, as an increase of the infant navy of the 
United States.* Although these . measures for defence were generally 
warmly opposed by the democratic minority in Congress, and some of 
them, adopted by small majorities, they were received with approbation by 
a great majority of the people. The young men took up the subject of 
the affairs of the country with great zeal, and in Boston, Robert Treat 
Paine wrote the celebrated song of " Adams and Liberty." He and oth- 
ers delivered patriotic orations to their young associates. Addresses were 
sent to the president from all parts of the country, glowing with patriot- 
ism, and with defia-nce of France. Mr. Adams had good reason to think 
that he stood strong in the respect and affections of the people, and at 
this period his administration was undoubtedly popular. 
• At this session provision was made by law for the establishment of a navy department. 



100 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

In the arrangement of tlie intended military force, all eyes were turned 
to Washington as the chief. Mr. Adams made known his intention to 
appoint him ; and in answer, without intimating a willingness to accept, 
he expressed his full approbation of the president's measures. He was 
afterward appointed, with the condition that he might select his officers 
next in command.* 

The crisis did not arrive which rendered it necessary for Washington 
to take the field, and, in the course of the following year, a treaty was 
made with France, which put an end to the military operations in the 
United States. An army, however, was raised, in 1798, as voted by Con- 
gress, and General Hamilton, of New York, was the immediate and ac- 
tive commander, being next in rank to Washington, when the officers were 
appointed, and who was recommended by him for that station.f 

Although there was no declaration of war, either on the part of France 
or the United States, hostilities actually commenced on the ocean between 
the two nations. The United States frigate Constellation, of 38 guns, 
Commodore Truxton, on the 9th of February, 1799, fell in with and 
captured the French frigate I'lnsurgent, of 40 guns. This action took 
place in the West India seas, and lasted about an hour. The Constella- 
tion, after refitting in the United States, met at sea, February 1, 1800, 
the French frigate I'Vengeance, of 54 guns, which latter vessel was si- 
lenced after an action of five hours. A squall enabled her to escape, with 
the loss of 160 men killed and wounded. 

The French government and people were surprised by the hostile 
movements of the United States. They seem to have relied on the op- 
position party in the United States to prevent war, which was not the ob- 
ject of France, and there soon appeared a disposition on the part of the 
French rulers to recede, with regard to their course toward the United 
States. 

There were two acts of Congress passed in the summer of 1798, which 
became extremely unpopular with a large portion of the people. These 
were the alien and sedition laws. The alien law was objected to as ex- 
tremely liable to abuse by the president, who was empowered to order 
aliens who Avere found or supposed to be conspiring against the peace and 
authority of the United States, to depart from its territories. One apology for 
the law was, that there were then computed to be thirty thousand French- 
men in the United States, all of whom were devoted to their native coun- 
try, and mostly associated, thorough clubs or otherwise. Besides these, 
there were computed to be fifty thousand who had been subjects of Great 
Britain, some of whom had found it unsafe to remain at home. It was 
also contended that the persons who, by the law, were liable to be re- 
quired to leave the country, were not citizens — had no just claims to a 
continuance here — and that their residence, with the views they had, and 
* Sullivan. f Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 101 

the opinions tliey published, endangered the welfare of the nation, for 
which it was the imperious duty of Congress to provide. The objection 
to the sedition law was, that it restricted the liberty of speech and of the 
press, which was an arbitrary interference with the right of the citizens 
to express freely their opinions on all public and political measures. 
Those who justified the law asserted that the grossest falsehoods were ut- 
tered and published, tending to deceive the people, and to excite their 
prejudices unduly, to the danger of the peace of the nation : And the gov- 
ernment ought to take measures to protect its rightful authority, and main- 
tain the peace of the republic — that the law expressly provided, in miti- 
gation of the common law on libels, that the truth, if proved, should be a 
justification.* [There were at this period two hundred newspapers pub- 
lished in the United States ; 178 or 180 were in favor of the federal ad- 
ministration, about twenty were opposed to most of the leading measures 
then adopted, and the greater portion of these were under the control of 
aliens.]! 

The opposition to the alien and sedition laws was very great in some 
parts of the country. In Virginia and Kentucky the legislatures declared 
them to be direct and gross infractions of the constitution, and appealed 
to the other states to join in opposition to them. At the next session of 
Congress, numerous petitions were presented for a repeal, but without 
avail at that time.| 

When the president met the fifth Congress at the commencement of 
their third session, in December, 1798, General Washington was present 
in the representatives' hall, accompanied by Generals Pinckney and Ham- 
ilton. This was Washington's last visit to Philadelphia, previous to his 
death, which took place a year afterward. He was now at the seat of 
government for the purpose of consulting with the president in arrange- 
ments respecting the organization of a provisional army. 

The replies of both branches of Congress to the president's speech. 
were in terms of decided approval of the measures recommended by him, 
particularly with regard to the course pursued toward France. Acts were 
passed for completing the organization of the army, and for augmenting 
the navy. The navy now began to be regarded with favor, and the presi- 
dent was authorized to contract for building six ships-of-war, of seventy- 
four guns ; and six sloops-of-war, of eighteen guns each ; for which pur- 
pose one million of dollars was appropriated. 

Acts were also passed, for the relief and protection of American sea- 
men, and authorizing the president to retaliate on subjects of other na- 
tions in cases of impressment ; to regulate trade and intercourse with the 
Indian tribes ; and farther to suspend the commercial intercourse between 
the United States and France. Sundry other measures of importance 

• See Bradford's History of the Federal Government, and Sullivan's Letters. 
i Bradford. ^ Ibid. 



102 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

were adopted to provide for the exigencies of tlie countiy. The term of 
the fifth Congress expired March 3, 1799. 

Resistance to the laws for collecting a direct tax being made in the 
state of Pennsylvania, the governor of that state was called on by the 
president to order out the militia, Avhich was done, and the insurrection 
was promptly suppressed. 

Before the adjournment of Congress, Mr. Adams had received intima- 
tions from the French government, through the American minister in Hol- 
land, Mr. William Vans Murray, that one or more envoys would be re- 
ceived for the purpose of holding diplomatic intercourse. The president, 
therefore, concluded to make a new attempt at negotiation, and on the 26th 
of February, 1799, he nominated to the senate Mr. Murray, Oliver Ells- 
worth (then chief justice), and Patrick Henry, as envoys to France, who 
were confirmed by the senate. Mr. Henry declined, and Governor AYil- 
liam R. Davie, of North Carolina, was substituted. In his letter decli- 
ning the appointment, Patrick Henry said : " I entertain a high sense of 
the honor done me by the president and the senate. Nothing short of 
absolute necessity could induce me to withhold my feeble aid from an ad- 
ministration whose abilities, patriotism, and virtue, deserve the gratitude 
and reverence of all their fellow-citizens." 

The president did not consult his cabinet on this occasion. When Mr. 
Pickering, secretary of state, and Mr. M'Henry, secretary of war, were 
informed that he intended a new mission, they remonstrated, and this made 
the breach, which had long been widening, irreparable. All those who 
had so far supported Mr. Adams's measures, considered it inconsistent 
with the honor and dignity of the nation to make any such attempt ; and 
that proposals to treat should come directly from France. General Ham- 
ilton, Gouverneur Morris, and other prominent supporters of the adminis- 
tration, were much opposed to the course adopted by the president on this 
occasion. 

The envoys to France delayed their departure till November, 1799, di- 
rect assurances not having been given to the president until October, 
that they would be favorably received by the French government. Hos- 
tilities between the tAvo nations existed on the ocean, as already stated, 
Avithout declaration of war, and upward of 300 private American vessels 
had been armed for self-defence. Depredations on American commerce 
had been committed for a long time by French cruisers, and an immense 
amount of property taken and destroyed. 

When the American ministers reached Paris, a change in the French 
government had taken place. Napoleon Bonaparte was then first consul, 
and immediately appointed three commissioners, of whom his brother Jo- 
seph was one, to treat with those from the United States. Articles Avere 
ratified by the French government in October, 1800, and afterward condi- 
tionally confirmed by the president and senate, before the close of Mr. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 103 

Adams's administration. The senate suspended two articles of the treaty, 
for further negotiation, which were settled after Mr. Jefferson's accession 
to the presidency. The treaty was objected to in this country, that it did 
not definitely and expressly stipulate indemnification for recent depreda- 
tions, by French vessels, on American commerce. The claims of the 
United States on France were not, indeed, abandoned, and the friends of 
the administration refrained from all denunciations and clamors against the 
treaty, from their confidence in the desire of the president and senate to 
sustain the honor and interest of the United States. 

The elections for members of the sixth Congress had terminated favor- 
ably for the administration of Mr. Adams ; and on the assembling of that 
body, in December, 1799, Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts, a prom- 
inent federalist, was elected speaker. The answers of the two houses to 
the president's speech, expressed their entire approbation of the course 
of the president toward France, and their concurrence in his views on 
other subjects mentioned, particularly in persevering in a system of na- 
tional defence, however the mission to France might terminate. 

On the 18th of December, Congress received the afflicting intelligence 
of the death of General Washington, which was announced in the house 
of representatives by Mr. Marshall, of Virginia (afterward chief justice), 
and both houses immediately adjourned. The senate-chamber, and rep- 
resentatives' hall, were afterward dressed in mourning, and other demon- 
strations of respect and of the feelings of Congress, were adopted in mem- 
ory of the father of his country. 

At this session of Congress, which continued until the 14th of May, 
1800, acts were passed further providing for the defence of the country 
and for the protection of commerce ; for maintaining peace with the Indi- 
ans ; and for the relief of persons imprisoned for debt in cases decided by 
the courts of the United States. A bankrupt law was also enacted, having 
been proposed and advocated at several preceding sessions. An addi- 
tional act was passed prohibiting the slave-trade, more explicit and exten- 
sive than the law of 1794. Additional duties were laid on sugar, molas- 
ses, and wines; and acts were also passed for taking a census in 1800, 
for erecting additional forts on the seacoast, for extending the postofBce 
establishment, and for the organization of Indiana territory. At this ses- 
sion, William H. Harrison appeared as the first delegate to Congress from 
the Northwest territory (now Ohio and Indiana). 

The conciliatory measures of the president toward France did not have 
the effect of lessening the opposition to his administration ; on the con- 
trary, the democratic party continually gained strength and new adherents, 
and the violence of their censures and attacks upon the prominent meas- 
ures of the federal government, increased as the dangers of war with 
France passed away. The public expenditures for the support of the 
army and navy, the direct taxes, and excise, but above all, the alien and 



104 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

sedition laws, were the subjects of constant attack, and successful efforts 
"were made to render these measures unpopular with the people. 

The two parties in Congress selected, in caucus, their candidates for 
president and vice-president, for the support of the people ; the federalists 
presented the names of President Adams and General Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney, brother to Thomas Pinckney, who was placed on the ticket 
with Mr. Adams in 1796 ; the democrats, or republicans, nominated Mr. 
Jefferson and Colonel Aaron Burr. As most of the presidential electors 
were to be chosen by the legislatures of the several states, the contest 
commenced in the election of members of the state legislatures. The 
most important, as well as one of the earliest of these elections, was that 
in the state of New York, which took place on the last two days of April 
and the first of May, 1800. The result of that contest, which was 
known before Congress adjourned, was favorable to the friends of Jeffer- 
son and Burr, thus reversing the vote of New York, which had been given 
to Adams and Pinckney in 1796. The hopes of the democrats were, of 
course, raised in a high degree, and that of the federalists proportionably 
depressed, by the prospects before them which this election presented. 
The question of the presidency was not, however, by any means, consid- 
ered as settled, and the public mind was destined to be deeply excited on 
the subject during the remainder of the year. 

Immediately after the New York election, President Adams abruptly 
dismissed two of his cabinet ministers, viz., Mr. Pickering, secretary of 
state, and Mr. M'Henry, secretary of war, an event which caused much 
sensation, and probably had some influence in reducing the federal- 
ists to a minority. General Hamilton subsequently came out with a 
letter censuring the public conduct and character of Mr. Adams ; which 
letter, disclosing a determined aversion to the president by so conspicuous 
a leader of the administration party, was considered as among the opera- 
tive causes of Mr. Adams's failure at the ensuing election. Hamilton, it 
is supposed, intended the pamphlet only for circulation at the south ; but, 
as it got into the hands of his opponents, its publication at New York was 
deemed indispensable. The object of the author of the letter appears to have 
been to secure the election of General Pinckney for president, but at the 
same time, he did not advise the withholding any of the votes of the fed- 
eral electors from Mr. Adams. It was believed, by some, that the state 
of South Carolina would vote for Jefferson and Pinckney, as was the case 
in 1796, but in the month of December, 1800, when it was known that 
South Carolina had given her electoral votes for Jefferson and Burr, the 
defeat of the federal candidates was settled. The votes of the electoral 
colleges were as follows : Jefferson, 73 ; Burr, 73 ; Adams, 65 ; Pinck- 
ney, 64 ; John Jay, 1 . The votes for Jefferson and Burr being equal, it 
remained for the house of representatives to decide, according to the con- 
stitution, as it then stood, which should be president, and which vice-pres- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 105 

ident. Thus a new turn was given to the excitement in the public 
mind. 

During the summer of 1800, the seat of government had been removed 
from Philadelphia to the new federal city of Washington, and at the lately- 
erected capitol President Adams met the sixth Congress, on the 22d of No- 
vember, 1800, when he delivered his last annual speech to the national leg- 
islature. He had, in May previous, appointed John Marshall, of Virginia, 
secretary of state, and Samuel Dexter, of Massachusetts, secretary of war. 
On the 31st of December following, Oliver Wolcott resigned, as secretary 
of the treasury, and Mr. Dexter was appointed in his place. Roger Gris- 
wold, of Connecticut, was appointed secretary of war on the 3d of Febru- 
ary. 1801. 

The most important acts of Congress, from November, 1800, to March 
3, 1801, were the following : An additional law relating to the federal ju- 
diciary, which divided the United States into six circuits, and provided for 
the appointment of three judges in each, leaving the judges of the supreme 
court to exercise power as a court of appeals, and for the correction of er- 
rors. An act for a naval peace establishment, by which the president was 
empowered, when he should think it safe and proper, to sell the ships of 
the United States, except thirteen of the largest frigates ; that six of these 
be hauled up and dismantled, and the others retained in service. An act 
for continuing the mint at Philadelphia, and for directing the mode of es- 
timating foreign coins ; for extending routes for conveying the public mails ; 
and for erecting several new lighthouses on the seacoasts. 

The subject of erecting a mausoleum or monument to the memory of 
Washington, was frequently discussed in Congress during this session. It 
was voted, by the house of representatives, to erect a mausoleum, and one 
hundred thousand dollars were appropriated for the purpose ; but the sen- 
ate rejected the plan, and decided in favor of a monument, as it would be 
less expensive, and voted only fifty thousand dollars to complete it.* 

Between the 13th of February and the 4th of March, 1801, President 
Adams appointed, with the consent of the senate, all the judges for the new 
courts, and the commissions were issued. The individuals selected for 
these offices were men of high standing, but the law was condemned by 
the democratic party, and the judges were called " the midnight judges of 
John Adams," in allusion to the supposed time of appointment, at the close 
of his official duties. In consequence of the repeal of the law under 
which they were appointed, these judges lost their offices, in the early 
part of Mr. Jefferson's administration. 

On the 11th of February, 1801, the votes for president and vice-presi- 
dent were counted, in the senate-chamber, in the presence of both houses 
of Congress, when, the tellers having announced the result, the vice-pres- 
ident (Mr. Jefferson) declared, that Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr 

* Bradford. 



106 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

being equal in the number of votes, it remained for the house of repre- 
■ sentatives to determine the choice. Thereupon, the members of the house 
returned to their chamber, when it was ascertained that 104 members were 
present, one deceased, and one absent, from sickness. The first ballot, 
(being by states, according to the constitution) was eight states for Mr. 
Jefferson, six states for Mr. Burr, and two divided, which result continued 
to be the same after balloting thirty-five times. The number of those 
who voted for Burr was 53, all federalists, and 51 for Jefferson, all repub- 
licans, or democrats, with one or two exceptions. On the 36th ballot, 
which took place on the 17th of February, several of the members who 
had voted for Burr, withdrew their opposition to the election of Mr. Jef- 
ferson, by putting in blank votes, in consequence of which, there appeared 
for Jefferson ten states, for Burr four, viz., New Hampshire, Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, and there were two blanks, viz., 
Delaware and South Carolina. Mr. Jefferson was thereupon elected 
president, and Colonel Burr vice-president, for four years from the fourth 
of March, 1801. 

The friends of the administration of Mr. Adams generally supported 
Colonel Burr, without any concert or understanding with him, but believ- 
ing him to be more in favor of the policy before pursued, than Mr. Jeffer- 
son, particularly on the subject of commerce. 

Of the character of Mr. Adams's administration, much difference of 
opinion still prevails ; but viewing it in continuation of that of Washing- 
ton, Mr. Bradford, in his history of the federal government, remarks : — 

" By the prudent and pacific, yet firm and decided measures of the fed- 
eral government, for twelve years, the character of the United States had 
become highly respectable among the greatest statesmen of Europe. Its 
policy exhibited a happy union of energy and magnanimity ; and it was 
respected alike for its wisdom and power. The nation was placed in a 
commanding attitude of defence, while liberty, peace, and improvement, 
were everywhere witnessed within its jurisdiction. Public credit had 
been fully established ; and able and faithful men had been selected for 
the public agents ; men whose patriotism had been proved by eight years, 
service devoted to their country's welfare " 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



THOMAS JEFFERSON. 



The life of Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, is 
one of the most interesting and instructive among those of the distinguished 
persons whose names are identified with American history. In the charac- 
ter of this extraordinary man, as well as in the events of his life, we are 
presented with a combination of philosophical attainments and political 
talents, of benevolent feelings, and ambitious aspirations, rarely found 
united in the same individual, and still more rarely resulting in the popu- 
lar veneration bestowed upon his name by a large portion of his country- 
men ; while by others he has been regarded in an unfavorable light as a 
statesman and a ruler, particularly in the effect of his political principles 
upon the American people, over whom he acquired such an astonishing 
ascendency. 

The family of Jefferson were among the early emigrants from Great 
Britain to Virginia. " The tradition in my father's family," the subject of 
this sketch says, in his own memoirs, " was, that their ancestor came to 
this country from Wales, and from near the mountain of Snowdon ; but 
the first particular information I have of any ancestor, was of my grand- 
father, who lived at the place in Chesterfield called Osborne's, and owned 
the lands, afterward the glebe of the parish. He had three sons : Thomas, 
who died young ; Field, who settled on the waters of the Roanoke, 
and left numerous descendants ; and Peter, my father, who settled on the 
lands I still own, called Shadwell, adjoining my present residence. He 
was born February 29, 1707-8, and intermarried, 1739, with Jane Ran- 
dolph, of the age of 19, daughter of Isham Randolph, one of the seven 
sons of that name and family settled in Goochland. They traced their 
pedigree far back in England and Scotland, to which let every one ascribe 
the faith and merit he chooses." 

At the above-named place, Shadwell, in Albemarle county, Virginia, 
Thomas Jefferson was born, on the 2d of April (old style), 1743. His 



i 



108 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 

father, Peter Jefferson, a man of some distinction in the colony, died in 
1757, leaving a widow (who lived until 1776) with two sons and six 
daughters. These children inherited a handsome estate from their father : 
Thomas, the eldest, received the lands which he called Monticello, on 
which he resided, when not in public life and when he died. 

At the age of five, his father placed him at an English school, and at 
nine years of age he commenced the study of Latin and Greek, with Mr. 
Douglass, a Scotch clergyman, who also instructed him in French. On 
the death of his father, he was placed under the tuition of another clergy- 
man, Mr. Maury, a classical scholar, with whom he pursued his studies 
two years. In the spring of 1760, he entered William and Mary College, 
where he continued two years. Dr. William Small, of Scotland, was then 
professor of mathematics, and is described by Mr. Jefferson as " a man 
profound in most of the useful branches of science, with a happy talent 
of communication, correct and gentlemanly manners, and an enlarged and 
liberal mind. He, most happily for me," he adds, " became soon attached 
to me, and made me his daily companion when not engaged in the school ; 
and from his conversation I got my first views of _ the expansion of sci- 
ence, and of the system of things in which we are placed. He returned 
to Europe in 1762, having previously filled up the measure of his good- 
ness to me, by procuring for me, from his most intimate friend, George 
Wythe, a reception as a student at law under his direction, and introducing 
me to the acquaintance and familiar table of Governor Fauquier, the ablest 
man who had ever filled that office. Mr. Wythe continued to be my 
faithful and beloved mentor in youth, and my most affectionate friend 
through life. In 1767, he led me into the practice of the law, at the bar 
of the general court, at which I continued until the revolution shut up the 
courts of justice." 

" It has been thought," says Mr. Wirt, " that Mr. Jefferson made no fig- 
ure at the bar; but the case was far otherwise. There are still extant, in 
his own fair and neat hand, in the manner of his master, a number of ar- 
guments which were delivered by him at the bar, upon some of the most 
intricate questions of the law ; which, if they shall ever see the light, 
will vindicate his claim to the first honors of his profession. It is true, 
he Avas not distinguished in popular debate ; why he was not so, has often 
been matter of surprise to those who have not seen his eloquence on pa- 
per, and heard it in conversation. He had all the attributes of the mind, 
and the heart, and the soul, which are essential to eloquence of the high- 
est order. The only defect was a physical one : he wanted volume and 
compass of voice for a large, deliberative assembly ; and his voice, from the 
excess of his sensibility, instead of rising with his feelings and concep- 
tions, sank under their pressure, and became guttural and inarticulate. 
The consciousness of this infirmity repressed any attempt in a large body 
in which he knew he must fail. But his voice was all-sufficient for the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 109 

purposes of judicial debate ; and there is no reason to doubt that, if the 
service of his country had not called him away so soon from his profes- 
sion, his fame as a lawyer would now have stood upon the same distin- 
guished ground which he confessedly occupies as a statesman, an author, 
and a scholar. 

'' At the time of Mr. JefTerson's appearance," the same writer remarks, 
" the society of Virginia was much diversified, and reflected pretty dis- 
tinctly an image of that of England. There was, first, the landed aris- 
tocracy, shadowing forth the order of English nobility ; then the sturdy 
yeomanry, common to them both ; and last, a foiculum of beings, as they 
were called by Mr. Jefferson, corresponding with the mass of the English 
plebeians. 

" Mr. Jefferson, by birth, belonged to the arhtocracy : but the idle and 
voluptuous life which marked that order had no charms for a mind like 
his. He relished better the strong, unsophisticated, and racy character 
of the yeomanry, and attached himself, of choice, to that body. He was 
a republican and a philanthropist, from the earliest dawn of his character. 
He read with a sort of poetic illusion, which identified him with every 
scene that his author spread before him. Enraptured with the brighter 
ages of republican Greece and Rome, he had followed with an aching 
heart the march of history which had told him of the desolation of those 
fairest portions of the earth ; and had read, with dismay and indignation, 
of that swarm of monarchies, the progeny of the Scandinavian hive, under 
which genius and liberty were now everywhere crushed. He loved his 
own country with a passion not less intense, deep, and holy, than that of his 
great compatriot (John Adams) : and with this love he combined an ex- 
panded philanthropy which encircled the globe. From the working of 
the strong energies within him, there arose an early vision, too, wliich 
cheered his youth and accompanied him through life — the vision of eman- 
cipated man throughout the world."* 

While he was a student of law at Williamsburg, in 1765, Mr. Jefferson 
heard the celebrated speech of Patrick Henry, in the Virginia house of 
delegates, against the stamp-act ; animated by the eloquence of Henry, 
he from that time stood forward as a champion for his country. 

In 1769, he was chosen by the people of his county to represent them 
in the legislature of the colony, a station that he continued to fill up to the 
period of the revolution. In that capacity he made an effort, which was 
not successful, for the emancipation of slaves in Virginia. 

In January, 1772, Mr. Jefferson married Mrs. Martha Skelton, a widow 
of twenty-three years of age, daughter of Mr. John Wayles, an eminent 
lawyer of Virginia, who left her a considerable fortune. 

On the 12th of March, 1773, Mr. Jefferson was chosen a member of 
the first committee of correspondence established by the colonial legisla- 
• Wirt's Eulogy on Adams and Jefferson. 



110 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 

tures. In 1774, he published his " Summary "View of the Rights of 
British America," a powerful pamphlet, addressed to the king of Great 
Britain, in which he set forth the true relations between the mother-coun- 
try and colonies, as claimed by the people of this country. This pam- 
phlet was republished in England, under the auspices of Edmund Burke. 

In 1775, he was elected one of the delegates to represent Virginia in 
the continental Congress, of which body he was for several years one of 
the most active members. The Virginia delegates having, in pursuance 
of instructions from their provincial convention, moved a resolution in fa- 
vor of the independence of the colonies, that question was taken up in 
Congress, and, after debate, referred to a committee of five, of whom Mr. 
Jefferson was chosen chairman. The committee, whose names are given 
in our biography of Mr. Adams, requested Mr. Jefferson to prepare the 
Declaration of Independence. To this he consented, although then one 
of the youngest members of Congress, and his draught of that paper, 
which is the principal monument of his fame, was accepted by the com- 
mittee and by Congress, with few amendments, and finally adopted on the 
4th of July, 1776. 

The new state government of Virginia having been organized the same 
year, while Mr. Jeff'erson Avas in Congress, and he having been elected a 
member of the legislature, where he thought he could be useful in framing 
the laws required under a republican form of government, he resigned his 
place in Congress, and took his seat in the Virginia legislature, in October. 
In this station he acted as one of a commission for revising the laws of 
the commonwealth. 

Among the laws proposed by him, and adopted, were those prohibiting 
the future importation of slaves ; for abolishing the law of primogeniture, 
and providing for the equal partition of inheritances ; for establishing re- 
ligious freedom ; and for a system of general education ; which last meas- 
ure was never carried into practice in the state. 

The benevolence of Mr. Jefferson's character is shown in a transaction 
Avhich took place in 1779. Congress had deemed it prudent to retain in 
this country the British troops who were captured at Saratoga on the sur- 
render of Burgoyne, until the British government ratified the agreement 
of their commanding officer. These troops were removed into the inte- 
rior of the county, and Charlottesville, in Virginia, in the immediate vicinity 
of Mr. Jefferson's residence, was selected for their residence. There 
they were sent in the early part of 1779, although the barracks were 
in an unfinished state, the provisions for their sustenance insufficient, 
and the roads in a bad condition. Mr. Jefferson and some of his neigh- 
bors did all in their power to alleviate the distresses of the troops, 
and the circumstances of their captivity. After arrangements were made 
for their accommodation, the governor and council, in consequence of 
the representations of persons who apprehended a scarcity of provisions, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSO?f. Ill 

determined, as they were authorized to do by Congress, to remove 
the prisoners to another state, or to some other part of Virginia. This 
intention was heard by the officers and men with distress, and with 
regret by Mr. Jefferson and his neighbors. He therefore addressed a 
letter to Governor Henry, in which he stated, in earnest and feehng 
language, the inhumanity and impolicy of the proposed measure. This 
appeal was successful, and the troops were suffered to remain at Char- 
lottesville. From the British officers Mr. Jefferson received many let- 
ters of thanks for his kindness and hospitality, which they did not for- 
get in his subsequent visit to Europe. When the time arrived for their 
leaving Virginia to return to England, the officers united in a letter of re- 
newed thanks and respectful farewell to him. In his reply Mr. Jefferson 
said : " The little attentions you are pleased to magnify so much, never 
deserved a mention or thought. Opposed as we happen to be, in our sen- 
timents of duty and honor, and anxious for contrary events, I shall, never- 
theless, sincerely rejoice in every circumstance of happiness and safety 
Avhich may attend you personally." 

On the first of June, 1779, Mr. Jefferson Avas elected by the legislature 
to succeed Patrick Henry, the first republican governor of Virginia. Af- 
ter holding the office two years, he retired to private life, and soon after- 
ward he narrowly escaped capture by a company of 250 British cavalry, 
who were sent into the interior for the purpose of surprising and making 
prisoners the members of assembly at Charlottesville. No one was taken, 
and Mr. Jefl'erson, when pursued, escaped on his horse, through the woods 
at Carter's mountain. He was the same year elected a member of the 
legislature. 

In 1781, Mr. Jefferson wrote his " Notes on Virginia," in reply to cer- 
tain questions addressed to him by M. de Marbois, the secretary of lega.- 
tion from France in the United States, embracing a general view of its 
geography, natural productions, statistics, government, history, and laws. 
This little work, which has been very generally adin'red for its style and 
variety of informitioo, was soon after published, both in French and 
English. 

He ha(ljirii77u,accnncd the appointment of commissioner, with Frank- 
lin and Deane, to negotiate treaties with France. In 1782, Congress ap- 
po'uted him a minister plenipotentiary, to join those who were in Europe, 
to negotiate a treaty of peace with Great Britain, but intelligence having 
been received that preliminaries had been signed, Congress dispensed 
with his leaving the United States. 

Having been again elected a delegate to Congress, in 1783, he was 
chairman of the committee to whom the treaty of peace with Great Brit- 
ain was referred ; and on the report of this committee the treaty was 
unanimously ratified. In 1784, he wrote notes on the establishment of a 
coinage for the United States, and proposed a different money unit from 



X12 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 

that suggested by Robert Morris, the continental financier, and of his as- 
sistant, Gouverneur Morris. To Mr. Jefferson we are indebted for the 
dollar as the unit, and our present system of coins and decimals. 

As a member of Congress, Mr. Jefferson made but few speeches. He 
remarks : " I served with General Washington in the legislature of Vir- 
ginia, before the revolution, and during it, with Dr. Franklin in Congress. 
I never heard either of them speak ten minutes at a time, nor to any but 
the main point which was to decide the question." 

He Avas appointed by Congress, in May, 1784, with Adams and Frank- 
lin, a minister plenipotentiary to negotiate treaties of cormnerce with for- 
eign nations. In July he sailed from Boston for Europe, with his eldest 
daughter, and joined the other commissioners, at Paris, in August. Ne- 
gotiations were only successful with Prussia and Morocco. In March, 
1785, Mr. Jefferson was appointed by Congress to succeed Dr. Franklin 
as minister at the French court, and remained in France until Octo- 
ber, 1789. 

During his residence in Paris, his society was courted by Condorcet, 
D'Alerabert, Morrellet, and other distinguished literary and scientific men 
of France ; and in the gayety, learning, taste, elegance, and hospitality of 
Paris, he found the pleasures most congenial to his disposition. In the 
month of October, 1789, he obtained leave of absence for a short time, 
and returned to the United States. He arrived at Norfolk on the 23d of 
November, and on his way home received from President Washington a 
letter offering him the appointment of secretary of state, at the organiza- 
tion of the federal government under the constitution, which had then 
recently been adopted. His inclinations were to return to France, as min- 
ister, which was left at his option by the president, but he finally conclu- 
ded to accede to the wishes of Washington that he should accept the seat 
in his cabinet offered to him. His reports, while secretary of state, on 
the eurrency, on weights and measures, on the fisheries, and on commer- 
cial restrictioiis, as -well as his correspondence with foreign ministers, 
gave arnpie p)oofs of his ability as a statesman. In 1790, Mr. Jefferson 
accompanied President Washington on a vi ' • ^bode Island, after that 
state had accepted the federal constitution. In i791, being callefl oil by 
the president for his opinion on the act pas.-cd by Congress establishing a 
national bank, he made a written communication, objecting to the institu- 
tion as unconstitutional. The bill was, however, approved by President 
Washington. On the 31st of December, 1793, Mr. Jeff'erson resigned his 
seat in the cabinet, and retired to private life, at Monticello. While hold- 
ing office under Washington, he had disapproved of many of the measures 
of his administration, particularly in those which originated with the sec- 
retary of the treasury, Hamihon. Between that gentleman and Mr. Jef- 
ferson there were irreconcilable diflcrehces of opinion on political mat- 
ters, which caused constant bickerings in the cabinet first formed by Gen- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON 113 

eral Washington. The opposition to the federal administration assumed 
an organized form under the auspices of Mr. Jefferson. By his advice 
the opposition party, Avhich had been called anti-federalists, claimed the 
name of republicans, while their federal opponents called them democrats, 
after that name was introduced here from France. The term democrat 
was seldom used or countenanced by Mr. Jefferson. 

In 1796, the political friends of Mr. Jefferson brought him forward as a 
candidate for president, but as Mr. Adams received the highest number of 
votes, that gentleman was elected president, and ]\Ir. Jefferson vice-presi- 
dent, for four years from March 4, 1797. During that period, when not 
presiding in the senate, his time was passed in his favorite retreat at Mon- 
ticello. He wrote a manual for the senate, which has ever since been 
the standard guide of Congress, as well as other political bodies, in the 
rules for transacting business. 

In 1800, Mr. Jefferson was again nominated by his party, for president, 
and received a majority of votes over Mr. Adams. The votes for Mr. Jef- 
ferson and Colonel Burr, the republican candidates for president and vice- 
president, being equal, the house of representatives, as then required by 
the constitution, were called upon to decide which should be president. 
When the election came on in the house, the political opponents of Mr. 
Jefferson voted for Burr ; but on the 36th ballot, the opposition being par- 
tially withdrawn, Mr. Jefierson was elected president, and Colonel Burr 
became, of course, vice-president. 

Of the events of Mr. Jefferson's administration we shall speak in an- 
other place. He was re-elected president in 1804, and retired finally 
from public life March 4, 1809. The remaining seventeen years of 
his^life were passed in the tranquillity of Monticello. " Here," says Mr. 
Webster, " he lived as became a wise man. Surrounded by affectionate 
friends, his ardor in the pursuit of knowledge undiminished, with uncom- 
mon health, and unbroken spirits, he was able to enjoy largely the rational 
pleasures of life, and to partake in that public prosperity which he had so 
much contributed to produce. His kindness and hospitality, the charm 
of his conversation, the ease of his manners, the extent of his acquire- 
ments, and especially the full store of revolutionary incidents which he 
possessed, and which he knew when and how to dispense, rendered his 
abode in a high degree attractive to his admiring countrymen, while his 
public and scientific character drew toward hirri every intelligent and edu- 
cated traveller from abroad." 

The correspondence of Mr. Jefferson was extensive through life. In 
his latter years he renewed his intimacy with Mr. Adams, and the letters 
between the two ex-presidents which were published, are of the most 
friendly character. 

The principal object in which Mr. Jefferson took an interest in his de- 
clining years, was that of a system of education in Virginia, especially in 
8 . 



114 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 

the superintendence of the university of Virginia, which was founded in 
1818, through his instrumentality. This institution was located at Char- 
lottesville, at the foot of the mountain on Avhich Mdnticello is situated, 
and Mr. Jefferson acted as rector from the time of its foundation until his 
death. 

The pecuniary circumstances of Mr. Jefferson became embarrassed in 
his old age. He was compelled to dispose of his library, which was pur- 
chased by Congress for $23,950, and in 1825 he applied to the legislature 
of Virginia for leave to dispose of his estate at Monticello by lottery, to 
prevent its being sacrificed in payment of his debts. His request was 
granted, but his earthly career was closed before his wishes could be car- 
ried into effect. After a short illness, he died the following 4th of July, 
1826, the aniversary of that day which fifty years before had been ren- 
dered memorable by that declaration of independence which had emana- 
ted from his pen. We have mentioned in another place the remarkable 
coincidence that his compatriot, John Adams, died on the same day. 

In a private memorandum left by Mr. Jefferson, he desired that a small 
granite obelisk might be erected over his remains, with the following in- 
scription : — 

Here was buried 

Thomas Jefferson, 

Author of the Declaration of Independence, 

Of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, 

And Father of the University of Virginia. 

The age of Mr. Jefferson at the time of his death, was a little over 
eighty-three years. His wife died in 1782, leaving three daughters, one 
of whom died young, one married John W. Eppes, and the other Thomas 
M. Randolph, both of Virginia, the latter afterward governor of the state. 
Mrs. Eppes died in 1804, while Mr. Jefferson was president; Mrs. Ran- 
dolph survived him. 

In person Mr. Jefferson was beyond the ordinary dimensions, being six 
feet two inches in height, thin, but well formed, erect in his carriage, and 
imposing in his appearance. His complexion was fair, his hair, originally 
red, became white and silvery in old age ; his eyes were light blue, 
sparkling with intelligence, and beaming with philanthropy ; his nose was 
large, his forehead broad, and his whole countenance indicated great sen- 
sibility and profound thought. His manners were simple and unpolished, 
yet dignified, and all who approached him were rendered perfectly at ease, 
both by his republican haliits and his genuine politeness. His disposition 
being cheerful, his conversation was lively and enthusiastic, remarkable 
for the chastity of his colloquial diction and the gorrectness of his phrase- 
ology. He disliked form and parade, and his dress was remarkably plain, 
and often slovenly. Benevolence and liberality were prominent traits of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 115 

his disposition. To his slaves he was an indulgent master. As a neio-h- 
bor, he was much esteemed for his liberality and friendly offices. As a 
friend, he was ardent and unchangeable ; and as a host, the munificence 
of his hospitality was carried to the excess of self-impoverishment. He 
possessed great fortitude of mind, and his command of temper was such 
that he was never seen in a passion. 

As a man of letters, and a votary of science, he acquired high distinction. 
In the classics, and in several European languages, as well as in mathe- 
matics, he attained a proficiency not common to American students. 

With regard to his political opinions, and his character as a statesman, 
his countrymen have widely diff'ered in their estimates. By some per- 
sons he has been considered as one of the most pure, amiable, dignified, 
wise, and patriotic of men. By others he has been considered as re- 
markably defective in the qualities which dignify and adorn human life, 
and as one of the most wrong-headed statesmen that ever lived. Poster- 
ity will judge which of these opinions is right, and which is wrong. His 
writings which, agreeably to directions left by him, have been published 
since his death, afford ample materials for judging of his character. 
They consist of four volumes, octavo, of correspondence, anas, &c. 

The religious opinions of Mr. Jeff'erson were peculiar and eccentric. 
His writings show that he was a free-thinker, with a preference for some 
of the doctrines of unitarianism. In a letter to a friend he says : " I have 
to thank you for your pamphlets on the subjects of unitarianism^ and to 
express my gratification with your efforts for the revival of j)ri?nitive 
Christianity in your quarter. And a strong proof of the solidity of the 
primitive faith is its restoration, as soon as a nation arises Avhich vindi- 
cates to itself the freedom of religious opinion, and its external divorce 
from civil authority. I confidently expect that the present generation will 
see unitarianism become the general religion of the United States." 

In a letter to William Short, dated April, 1820, when alluding to the 
subject of religion, Mr. Jeff'erson remarks : " But it is not to be under- 
stood that I am with him [Jesus] in all his doctrines. I am a materialist ; 
he takes the side of spiritualism ; he preaches the efficacy of repentance 
toward forgiveness of sin ; I require a counterpoise of good works to re- 
deem it, &c., &c. It is the innocence of his character, the purity and 
sublimity of his moral precepts, the eloquence of his inculcations, the 
beauty of the apologues in which he conveys them, that I so much ad- 
mire ; sometimes, indeed, needing indulgence to eastern hyperbolism. My 
eulogies, too, may be founded on a postulate which all may not be ready 
to grant. Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him by his biog- 
raphers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of 
the most lovely benevolence ; and others, again, of so much ignorance, so 
much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pro- 
nounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from 



116 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JEFFERSON. 

the same being. I separate, therefore, the gold from the dross ; restore 
to him the former, and leave the latter to the stupidity of some, and 
roguery of others of his disciples. Of this band of dupes and impostors, 
Paul was the great Coryphseus, and first corrupter of the doctrines of Je- 
sus. These palpable interpolations and falsification of his doctrines led 
me to try to sift them apart. I found the work obvious and easy, and that 
his part composed the most beautiful morsel of morality which has been 
given to us by man." 

The following is an extract from the last letter of Mr. Jefferson, written 
only ten days previous to his death : — 

"MoNTiCELLO, June 24, 1826. 

" Respected Sir : The kind invitation I received from you, on the 
part of the citizens of Washington, to be present with them at their cele- 
bration on the fiftieth anniversary of American independence, as one of 
the surviving signers of an instrument pregnant with our own, and the 
fate of the world, is most flattering to myself, and heightened by the hon- 
orable accompaniment proposed for the comfort of such a journey. It adds 
sensibly to the sufferings of sickness, to be deprived by it of a personal 
participation in the rejoicings of that day. But acquiescence is a duty, 
under circumstances not placed among those we are permitted to control. 
May that day be to the world, what I believe it will be (to some parts 
sooner, to others later, but finally to all) the signal of arousing men to 
burst the chains under which monkish ignorance and' superstition had per- 
suaded them to bind themselves, and to assume the blessings and security 
of self-government. For ourselves, let the annual return of this day for 
ever refresh our recollections of these rights, and an undiminished devo- 
tion to them. « Th. JeffersOx\. 
" To Mr. Weightman." 



ADMINISTRATIOxN OF JEFFERSON. 



On the day of his inauguration as president of the United States, March 
4, 1801, Mr. Jefferson was in the 58th year of his age. He delivered his 
inaugural address in the new capitol at Washington, in presence of the 
vice-president, the senators, many members of the house of represent- 
atives, the foreign ministers, and a large concourse of citizens. The 
oath of office Avas administered by Chief- Justice Marshall, after the ad- 
dress was delivered. The vice-president. Colonel Burr, took his seat in 
the senate the same day. He had taken no part in the election of presi- 
dent by the house of representatives, having been in Albany during that 
contest. The democratic party in the house were pledged to persevere 
in voting for Mr. Jefferson to the end, whatever might be the consequence, 
and none of them varied from that pledge. Colonel Burr, on the 16th of 
December, 1800, addressed a letter to General S. Smith, of Baltimore, 
who was then a member of the house of representatives, in which he dis- 
claimed all competition with Mr. Jefferson. " As to my friends," he says, 
" they would dishonor my views, and insult my feelings, by a suspicion 
that I would submit to be instrumental in counteracting the wishes and 
the expectations of the people of the TTnited States. And I now consti- 
tute you my proxy to declare these sentiments, if the occasion should re- 
quire." Notwithstanding this course of Colonel Burr, the contest in Con- 
gress produced, almost immediately after the election, strong feelings of 
dissatisfaction between some of the friends of the president and vice-presi- 
dent. Jealousies and distrust had previously existed between these different 
sections of the democratic party, now triumphant in the possession of the 
power of the federal government. These feelings were suppressed for a 
time, but circumstances subsequently occurred Avhich rencAved them, and 
the result was the political prostration of the vice-president, before his term 
of office had expired. 

The senate having been called together by President Adams, Mr. Jef- 
ferson commenced the organization of his cabinet by the appointment, with 
the consent of the senate, on the 5th of March, of James Madison, secre- 
tary of state, Henry Dearborn, of Massachusetts, secretary of war, and 
Levi Lincoln, of Massachusetts, attorney-general. The secretaries of the 



]18 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

treasury and navy, Samuel Dexter and Benjamin Stoddert, who had been 
appointed by Mr. Adams, were continued in office a short time ; but before 
the meeting of Congress, Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, was appointed 
secretary of the treasury, and Robert Smith, of Maryland, secretary of the 
navy. At the same time with the last, Gideon Granger, of Connecticut, 
was appointed postmaster-general, in place of Joseph Habersham, of Geor- 
gia. This officer was not made a member of the cabinet until the 
administration of President Jackson. The nominations of Gallatin, 
Smith, and Granger, were confirmed by the senate on the 26th of Jan- 
uary, 1802. 

In his inaugural speech, Mr. Jefferson soothed the serious apprehensions, 
which were entertained by his political opponents, as to the manner in 
which he might exercise executive power. From his declarations in 
that address, the federalists hoped that he would not disturb those of their 
party who were in office, or cause any radical change in the administra- 
tion of the government. They were soon made to understand that polit- 
ical tolerance was not to be expected in all cases toward officeholders. 
In June, 1801, Mr. Jefferson removed Elizur Goodrich, a federalist, from 
the office of collector of the port of New Haven, and appointed Samuel 
Bishop, a democrat, in his place. In reply to a remonstrance from the mer- 
chants and other citizens of New Haven, in which they assert Mr. Goodrich's 
promptness, integrity, and ability ; and better qualifications than those of Mr. 
Bishop, who was nearly seventy-eight years of age, and quite infirm, Mr. 
Jefferson said, among other things, in his answer, dated 12th of .luly : " Dec- 
larations by myself, in favor of political tolerance, exhortations to harmony 
and affection in social intercourse, and respect for the equal rights of the 
minority, have, on certain occasions, been quoted and misconstrued into as- 
surances that the tenure of offices was not to be disturbed. But could candor 
apply such a construction 1 When it is considered that, during the late ad- 
ministration, those who were not of a particular sect of politics were exclu- 
ded from all office ; when, by a steady pursuit of this measure, nearly the 
whole offices of the United States were monopolized by that sect ; when 
the public sentiment at length declared itself, and burst open the doors of 
honor and confidence to those whose opinions they approved ; was it to 
be imagined that this monopoly of office was to be continued in the hands 
of the minority ? Does it violate their equal rights to assert some rights 
in the majority also ? Is it political intolerance to claim a proportionate 
share in the direction of the public affairs ? If a due participation of 
office is a matter of right, how are vacancies to be obtained 1 Those by 
death are few, by resignation none. Can any other mode than that of re- 
moval be proposed ? This is a painful office ; but it is made my duty, 
and I meet it as such. I proceed in the operation with deliberation and 
inquiry, that it may injure the best men least, and effect the purposes of 
justice and public utility with the least private distress ; that it may be 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSO.V. 119 

thrown as much as possible on delinquency, on oppression, on intolerance, 
on anti-revolutionary adherence to our enemies. 

" I lament sincerely that unessential differences of opinion should ever 
have been deemed sufficient to interdict half the society from the rights 
and the blessings of self-government, to proscribe them as unworthy of every 
trust. It would have been to me a circumstance of great relief, had I 
found a moderate participation of office in the hands of the majority. I 
would gladly have left to time and accident to raise them to their just 
share. But their total exclusion calls for prompter corrections. I shall 
correct the procedure ; but that done, return with joy to that state of things 
when the only questions concerning a candidate shall be, Is he honest? 
as he capable ? Is he faithful to the constitution 1" 

It should be borne in mind that most of the persons who were in office 
when Mr. Jefferson came into power, were those who had been appointed 
by General Washington, and continued in their places by Mr. Adams, who 
made very few removals, and none for party reasons. If there was any- 
thing sectarian, then, in the system of appointments to office, it was 
chargeable more to General Washington than to Mr. Adams. The dem- 
ocratic party, however, had scarcely a name or an existence when Wash- 
ington's administration commenced ; and when the first appointments were 
made under the general government, reference could not have been had to 
political distinctions. Those Avho received appointments from Washing- 
ton were doubtless preferred for their integrity, capacity, and fidelity to 
the constitution. 

But Mr. Jefferson had been elected by a party, and was under the 
necessity of rewarding his supporters with offices and incomes ; and in 
his letter, quoted above, may be found the origin of the doctrine, " to the 
victors belong the spoils." But it is due to him to say, that although he 
confined his appointments to office to his political friends, as did generally 
his successors, Presidents Madison and Monroe, his removals of political 
opponents from office, during the eight years of his administration, were 
but few in number, compared with those of more recent administrations. 

The implied invitation given by Mr. Jefferson to all political adversa- 
ries, to abandon their creeds and adopt his own, with the expectation and im- 
plied promises of reward for apostacy, induced many of the federalists to join 
the triumphant party of the administration, some of whom were appointed 
to office under the general government. To prove their sincerity, they 
resorted to the bitterest condemnation of their former principles and asso- 
ciates. Sustained by the salaries of office, and raised by titles above 
those they had deserted, they could clearly see how base, plotting, and 
traitorous, some of their fellow-citizens were, with whom, but yesterday, 
they were proud to rank, and most zealous to uphold, as worthy patriots. 
•There were instances of departure from the federal side distinguishable 
from such as have been mentioned, and which did not deserve reproach. 



120 ADMINISTRATION OF JXFFERSON. 

There were timid men wlio diil not entirely approve of federal views of 
the national policy ; others, who thought themselves not to have been suf- 
ficiently valued by their federal associates ; and some were by nature and 
inclination Jeffersonians, and who originally mistook their side, and very 
properly went over where they belonged.* 

Mr. Jefferson said that he regarded all the appointments made by Mr. 
Adams after the 14th of February, while the house of representatives was 
balloting for president, as absolutely void. This must be understood to 
mean that, though Mr. Adams was constitutionally president up to the mid- 
night hour of the 3d of March, yet he ought to have submitted his will to 
that of his successor. On the same principle, Mr. Jefferson withheld the 
commissions of certain magistrates whom Mr. Adams had appointed, in 
the District of Columbia. The commissions were made out, and ready for 
delivery, but Mr. Jefferson ordered them to be suppressed. One of these 
magistrates (Mr. Marbury) applied to the supreme court for a writ of man- 
damus to Mr. Madison, the new president's secretary of state, to deliver 
his commission. But, after an able investigation of constitutional law, the 
court did not grant the motion. Mr. Jefferson found a commission duly 
made out, and signed by Mr. Adams, appointing a gentleman district judge 
in Rhode Island. This commission he suppressed, and appointed one in 
whom he could confide. f 

The following extracts from Mr. Jefferson's letters, written soon after his 
election, are interesting, as showing his views and feelings at that time, 
with regard to events, and on questions of public policy. To Governor 
M'Kean, March 9, 1801, he writes : " I thank you for congratulations on 
the event of the election. Had it terminated in the elevation of Mr. Burr, 
every republican would, I am sure, have acquiesced in a moment ; be- 
cause, however it might have been varient from the intentions of the vo- 
ters, yet it would have been agreeable to the constitution. No man would 
more cheerfully have submitted than myself, because I am sure the admin- 
istration would have been republican, and the chair of the senate permit- 
ting me to be at home eight months in the year, would, on that account, 
have been much more consonant to my real satisfaction. But in the event 
of a usurpation, I was decidedly with those who were determined not to 
permit it. Because that precedent, once set, would be artificiallv repro- 
duced, and end soon in a dictator." An explanation of his meaning may 
be found in a previous letter to James Monroe, dated February 15, before 
the question of election of president by the house was decided : " Four 
days of balloting have produced not a single change of a vote. Yet it is 
confidently believed that to-morrow there is to be a coalition. I know of 
no foundation for this belief. If they could have been permitted to pass 
a law for putting the government into the hands of an officer, they would 
certainly have prevented an election. But we thought it best to declare 
• Sullivan. t Ibid. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 121 

openly and fimilj^ one and all, that tlie day such an act passed, the middle 
states would arm, and that no such usurpation, even for a single day, 
should be submitted to. This first shook them; and they were com- 
pletely alarmed at the resource for which we declared, to wit, a convention 
to reorganize the government and to amend it. The very word convention 
gives them the horrors, as, in the present democratical spirit of America, 
they fear they should lose some of the favorite morsels of the constitution. 
Many attempts have been made to obtain terms and promises from me. I 
have declared to them unequivocally, that I would not receive the govern- 
ment on capitulation ; that I would not go into it with my hands tied." 

The following extracts from documents published by the sons of the 
Hon. James A. Bayard, of Delaware, in the National Gazette, of Philadel- 
phia, in December, 1830, in vindication of their father, who was a mem- 
ber of Congress at the time of the presidential election of 1801, are deemed 
important to illustrate this portion of political history.* 

Extracts of a letter from George Baer, Esq. (a member of the 6th Con- 
gress, from Maryland, in 1801), to Richard H. Bayard, Esq., dated Fred- 
erick, April 19, 1830. 

" Previous to and pending the election, rumors were industriously cir- 
culated, and letters written to different parts of the country, charging the 
federalists with the design to prevent the election of a president, and to 
usurp the legislative power. I was privy to all the arrangements made, 
and attended all the meetings of the federal party when consulting on the 
course to be pursued in relation to the election, and I pledge mytiiost 
solemn asseveration that no such measure was for a moment contemplated 
by that party ; that no such proposition was ever made ; and that if it had 
ever been, it would not only have been discouraged, but instantly put 
down, by those gentlemen who possessed the power, and were pledged to 
each other to elect a president before the close of the session." 

" Although nearly thirty years have elapsed since that eventful period, 
my recollection is vivid, as to the principal circumstances, which, from 
the part I was called upon to act, were deeply graven on my memory. 
It was soon ascertained that there were six individuals, the vote of any 
one of whom could at any moment decide the election These were, 
your father, the late James A. Bayard, who had the vote of the state of 
Delaware, General Morris, of Vermont, who held the divided vote of that 
state, and Mr. Craik, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Dennis, and myself, who held the 
divided vote of Maryland. Your father, Mr. Craik, and myself, having 
compared ideas upon the subject, and finding that we entertained the same 
views and opinions, resolved to act together, and accordingly entered into 
a solemn and mutual pledge, that we would, in the first instance, yield to 
the wishes of the great majority of the party with whom we acted,' and 
vote for Mr. Burr, but that no consideration should induce us to protract 
• See Davis's Life of Burr, and Appendix to Knapp's Life of Burr. 



'122 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

the contest beyond a reasonable period for the purpose of ascertaining 
whether he could be elected. We determined that a president should be 
chosen, but were willing thus, far to defer to the opinions of our political 
friends, whose preference of Mr. Burr was founded upon a belief that he 
was less hostile to federal men and federal measures, than Mr. Jefferson. 
General Morris and Mr. Dennis concurred in this arrangement." 

Extract from the deposition of Hon. James A. Bayard, taken and sworn 
to, at Washington, April 3, 1806 : — 

" Messrs. Baer and Craik, members of the house of representatives 
from Maryland, and General Morris, a member of the house from Ver- 
mont, and myself, having the power to determine the votes of the states, 
from similarity of views and opinions, during the pendency of the elec- 
tion, made an agreement to vote together. We foresaw that a crisis was 
approaching which might probably force us to separate in our votes from 
the party Avith whom we usually acted. We were determined to make a 
president, and the period of Mr. Adams's administration was rapidly ap- 
proaching. 

" In determining to recede from the opposition to Mr. Jefferson, it oc- 
curred to us, that, probably, instead of being obliged to surrender at dis- 
cretion, we might obtain terms of capitulation. The gentlemen whose 
names I have mentioned, authorized me to declare their concurrence with 
me upon the best terms that could be procured. The vote of either of us 
was sufficient to decide the choice. With a view to the end mentioned, 
I applied to Mr. John Nicholas, a member of the house from Virginia, 
who was a particular friend of Mr. Jefferson. I stated to Mr. Nicholas, 
that if certain points of the future administration could be understood and 
arranged with Mr. Jefferson, I was authorized to say that three states would 
withdraw from an opposition to his election. He asked me what those 
points were : I answered. First, sir, the support of the public credit ; sec- 
ondly, the maintenance of the naval system ; and lastly, that subordinate 
public officers employed only in the execution of details, established by 
law, shall not be removed from office on the ground of their political char- 
acter, nor without complaint against their conduct. I explained myself 
, that I considered it not only reasonable, but necessary, that offices of high 
discretion and confidence should be filled by men of Mr. Jefferson's 
choice. I exemplified, by mentioning, on the one hand, the offices of the 
secretaries of state, treasury, foreign ministers, &c. ; and on the other, the 
collectors of ports, &c. Mr. Nicholas answered me, that he considered 
the points very reasonable, that he was satisfied that they corresponded 
with the views and intentions of Mr. Jefferson, and he knew him well. 
That he was acquainted with most of the gentlemen who would probably 
be about him and enjoy his confidence, in case he became president, and 
that if I would be satisfied with his assurance, he could solemnly declare 
it as his opinion, that Mr. Jefferson, in his administration, would not de- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 123 

part from tlie points I proposed. I replied to Mr. Nicholas, that I had 
not the least doubt of the sincerity of his declaration, and that his opinion 
was perfectly correct, but that I wanted an engagement, and that if the 
points could in any form be understood as conceded by Mr. Jefferson, the 
election should be ended : and proposed to him to consult Mr. Jefferson. 
This he declined, and said he could do no more than give me the assur- 
ance of his own opinion as to the sentiments and designs of Mr. Jefferson 
and his friends. I told him that was not sufficient, that we should not 
surrender without better terms. Upon this we separated ; and I shortly after 
met with General Smith, to whom I unfolded myself in the same manner 
that I had done to Mr. Nicholas. In explaining myself to him in relation to 
the nature of the offices alluded to, I mentioned the offices of George 
Latimer, collector of the port of Philadelphia, and Allen M'Lane,* col- 
lector of Wilmington, General Smith gave me the same assurance, as to 
the observance by Mr. Jefferson of the points which I had stated, which 
Mr. Nicholas had done. I told him I should not be satisfied, nor agree 
to yield, till I had the assurance of Mr. Jefferson himself ; but that if he 
would consult Mr. Jefferson, and bring the assurance from him, the elec- 
tion should be ended. The general made no difficulty in consulting Mr. 
Jefferson, and proposed giving me his answer the next morning. The 
next day, upon our meeting, General Smith informed me that he had seen 
Mr. Jefferson, and stated to him the points mentioned, and was authorized 
by him to say, that they corresponded with his views and intentions, and 
that we might confide in him accordingly. The opposition of Vermont, 
Maryland, and Delaware, was immediately withdrawn, and Mr. Jefferson 
was made president by the votes of ten states." 

The deposition of Mr. Bayard is followed by that of Hon. Samuel 
Smith, of Maryland, taken 15th of April, 1806, which substantially con- 
firms the above statement of Mr. Bayard. 

We give a few further extracts from Mr. Jefferson's letters, to show his 
views and the progress of political events, after his accession to the presi- 
dency. 

To John Dickinson, March 6, 1 80 1 , he writes : " The storm through which 
we have passed, has been tremendous indeed. The tough sides of our 
Argosie have been thoroughly tried. Her strength has stood the waves 
into which she was steered with a view to sink her. We shall put her 
on the republican track, and she will now show, by the beauty of her mo- 
tion, the skill of her builders. Figure apart, our fellow-citizens have been 
led, hoodwinked, from their principles, by a most extraordinary combi- 
nation of circumstances. But the band is removed, and they now see for 
themselves. I hope to see shortly a perfect consolidation, to effect which, 
nothing shall be wanting on my part, short of the abandonment of the prin- 

• According to Davis's Life of Burr, these gentlemeiij Latimer and M'Lane, were retained 
in office. 



124 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

ciples of tlie revolution A just and solid republican government main- 
tained here, will be a standing monument and example for the aim and im- 
itation of the people of other countries." 

To Colonel Monroe, March 7, he gives his views as to appointments 
to office, as follows : " To give time for a perfect consolidation seems 
prudent. I have firmly refused to follow the counsels of those who 
have desired the giving offices to some of their leaders [federalists], 
in order to reconcile. I have given, and will give, oidy to republi- 
cans, under existing circumstances. But I believe, with others, that 
deprivations of office, if made on grounds of political principles alone, 
would revolt our new converts, and give a body to leaders who now 
stand alone. Some, I know, must be made. They must be as few 
as possible, done gradually, and bottomed on some malversation or in- 
herent disqualification. Where we shall draw the line between retain- 
ing all and none, is not yet settled, and will not be till we get our admin- 
istration together ; and perhaps even then we shall proceed a tatons, bal- 
ancing our measures according to the impression we perceive them to 
make. This may give you a general view of our plan." 

To Thomas Paine (then in France) he writes, March 18 : " The return 
of our citizens from the phrensy into which they had been wrought, partly 
by ill conduct in France, partly by artifices practised on them, is almost 
entire, and will, I believe, become quite so. But these details will be 
better developed by Mr. Dawson, the bearer of this, a member of the late 
Congress, to whom I refer you for them. He goes in the Maryland, a 
sloop-of-war, which Avill wait a few days at Havre to receive his letters. 
You expressed a wish to get a passage to this country in a public vessel. 
Mr. Dawson is charged with orders to the captain of the Maryland to re- 
ceive and accommodate you with a passage back, if you can be ready at 
such short warning. Robert R. Livingston is appointed minister to the 
republic of France, but will not leave this till we receive the ratification 
of the convention by Mr. Dawson. I am in hopes you will find us re- 
turned generally to sentiments worthy of former times. In these it will 
be your glory to have steadily labored, and with as much effect as any 
man living. That you may long live to continue your useful labors, and 
•to reap their reward in the thankfulness of nations, is my sincere prayer." 

To William B. Giles, March 23 : " I received, two days ago, your fa- 
vor of the 16th, and thank you for your kind felicitations on my election : 
but whether it will be a subject of felicitation permanently, will be for 
chapters of future history to say. The important subjects of the govern- 
ment I meet with some degree of courage and confidence, because I do 
believe the talents to be associated with me, the honest line of conduct we 
will religiously pursue, at home and abroad, and the confidence of ray fel- 
low-citizens dawning on us, will be equal to these objects. But there is 
another branch of duty which I must meet with courage too, though I can 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. J25 

not without pain ; that is, the appointments and disappointments as to offi- 
ces. Madison and Gallatin being still absent, we have not yet decided 
on our rules of conduct as to these. That some ought to be removed 
from office, and that all ought not, all mankind will agree. But vfhere to 
draw the line, perhaps no two will agree. Consequently, nothing like a 
general approbation on this subject can be looked for. Some principles 
have been the subject of conversation, but not of determination ; e. g., all 
appointments to civil offices during pleasure, made after the event of the 
election was certainly known to Mr. Adams, are considered as nullities. 
I do not view the persons appointed as even candidates for the office, but 
make others without noticing or notifying them. Mr. Adams's best friends 
have agreed this is right. 2. Officers who have been guilty of ojicial 
malconduct are subjects of removal. 3. Good- men, to whom there is no 
objection but a difference of political principle, practised on only as far as 
the right of a private citizen will justify, are not proper subjects of re- 
moval, except in the cases of attorneys and marshals. The courts being so 
decidedly federal and irremovable, it is believed that republican attorneys 
and marshals, being the doors of entry into the courts, are indispensably 
necessary as a shield to the republican part of our fellow-citizens, which, 
I believe, is the main body of the people. These principles are yet to be 
considered of, and I sketch them to you in confidence." 

To Elbridge Gerry, March 28 : *" Mr. Adams's last appointments, when 
he knew he was naming counsellors and aids for me, and not for himself, 
I set aside, as far depends on me. Officers who have been guilty of gross 
abuses of office, such as marshals packing juries, &c., I shall now re- 
move, as my predecessor ought in justice to have done. The instances 
will be few, and governed by strict rule, and not party passion. The right 
of opinion shall suffer no invasion from me. Those Avho have acted well 
have nothing to fear, however they may have differed from me in opinion." 

To Gideon Granger, May 3, 1801 : "A new subject of congratulation 
has arisen. I mean the regeneration of Rhode Island. I hope it is the 
beginning of that resurrection of the genuine spirit of New England 
which rises for life eternal. According to natural order, Vermont will 
emerge next, because least, after Rhode Island, under the yoke of hieroc- 
racy. I have never dreamed that all opposition was to cease. The cler- 
gy, who have missed their union with the state, the Anglemen, who have 
missed their union with England, and the political adventurers, who have 
lost the chance of swindling and plunder in the waste of public money, 
will never cease to bawl on the breaking up of their sanctuary. But 
among the people the schism is healed, and with tender treatment the 
wound will not reopen. Their quondam leaders have been astounded 
with the suddenness of the desertion : and their silence and appearance 
of acquiescence have proceeded not from a thought of joining us, but the 
uncertainty what ground to take. The very first acts of the administra- 



126 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

tion. the nominations, have accordingly furnished something to yelp on ; 
and all our subsequent acts will furnish them fresh matter, because there 
is nothing against which human ingenuity Avill not be able to find some- 
thing to say." 

To Nathaniel Macon, May 14 : — 

" Now to answer your particulars, seriatim. 

" Levees are done away with. 

" The first communication to the next Congress will be, like all subse- 
quent ones, by message, to which no answer will be expected. 

" The diplomatic establishment in Europe will be reduced to three 
ministers. 

" The compensation to collectors depends on you, and not on me. 

" The army is undergoing a chaste reformation. 

" The navy will be reduced to the legal establishment by the last of this 
month. 

" Agencies in every department will be revised. 

" We shall push you to the uttermost in economizing. 

" A very early recommendation had been given to the postmaster-gen- 
eral, to employ no printer, foreigner, or revolutionary tory, in any of his 
ofiices. This department is still untouched. 

" The arrival of Mr. Gallatin, yesterday, completed the organization of 
our administration." 

To Levi Lincoln, July 11:" The consolidation of our fellow-citizens 
in general, is the great object we ought to keep in view ; and that being 
once obtained, while we associate with us in aff'airs, to a certain degree, 
the federal sect of republicans, we must strip of all the means of influ- 
ence the Essex junto, and their associate monocrats in every part of the 
Union. The former differ from us only in the shades of power to be 
given to the executive, being, with us, attached to republican government. 
The latter wish to sap the republic by fraud, if they can not destroy it by 
force, and to erect an English monarchy in its place. We are proceed- 
ing gradually in the regeneration of offices, and introducing republicans 
to some share in them. I do not know that it will be pushed further than 
was settled before you went away, except as to Essex men. I must ask 
you to make out a list of those in office in yours and the neighboring 
states, and to furnish me with it." 

To the same, August 26 : " I had foreseen, years ago, that the first re- 
publican president who should come into office after all the places in the 
government had been exclusively occupied by federalists, would have a 
dreadful operation to perform. That the republicans would consent to 
a continuation of everything in federal hands, was not to be expected, be- 
cause neither just nor politic. On him, then, was to devolve the office of 
an executioner, that of lopping off. I can not say that it has worked 
harder than I expected. You know the moderation of our views in this 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 127 

business, ami that we all concurred in them. We determined to proceed 
with deliberation. This produced impatience in the republicans, and a 
belief we meant to do nothing. Some occasion of public explanation was 
eagerly desired, when the New Haven remonstrance offered us that occa- 
sion. The answer was meant as an explanation to our friends. It has 
had on them, everywhere, the most wholesome effect. Appearances of 
schismatizing from us have been entirely done away. I own I expected 
it wovdd check the current with which the republican federalists were re- 
turning to their brethren, the republicans. I extremely lamented this ef- 
fect. For the moment which should convince me that a healing of the 
nation into one, is impracticable, would be the last moment of my wishing 
to remain where I am. (Of the monarchical federalists I have no ex- 
pectations. They are incurables, to be taken ca^e of in a mad-house, if 
necessary, and on motives of charity.) I am much pleased, therefore, 
Avith your information that the republican federalists are still coming in to 
the desired union. I am satisfied that the heaping of abuse on me per- 
sonally, has been with the design and the hope of provoking me to make 
a general sweep of all federalists out of office. But as I have carried no 
passion into the execution of this disagreeable duty, I shall suffer none to 
be excited. The clamor which has been raised will not provoke me to 
remove one more, nor deter me from removing one less, than if not a word 
had been said on the subject. In the course of the summer, all which is 
necessary will be done ; and we may hope that, this cause of offence be- 
ing at an end, the measures we shall pursue and propose for the ameli- 
oration of the public affairs, will be so confessedly salutary as to unite all 
men not monarchists in principle. 

" We have considerable hopes of republican senators from South Caro- 
lina, Maryland, and Delaware, and some as to Vermont. In any event 
we are secure of a majority in the senate ; and consequently that there 
will be a concert of action between the legislature and executive. The 
removal of excrescences from the judiciary is the universal demand." 

The seventh Congress assembled at Washington, on the 7th of Decem- 
ber, 1801. In the senate, Aaron Burr, vice-president, presiding, political 
parties were nearly equally divided, at first, but eventually there was a 
majority in favor of the administration. Abraham Baldwin (democrat) was 
elected president pro tern. The majority of the house of representatives 
was also democratic, and Nathaniel Macon, a distinguished friend of Mr. 
Jefferson, from North Carolina, was elected speaker. This session of 
Congress continued till the 3d of May, 1802 — 138 days. The custom 
which had been established by General Washington, for the president to 
deliver in person his address to Congress, after the opening of the session, 
was discontinued by Mr. Jefferson, who transmitted his communication by 
message. In this change made by Mr. Jefferson, he appears to have had 
in view the convenience of Congress, the economy of their time, their 



128 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

relief from tlie embarrassment of immediate answers on subjects not yet 
fully before them, and the more republican form of this method of ad- 
dressing the national legislature, than that by speeches. In these respects 
its advantages were deemed so apparent, that the communication with 
Congress, by message, has been invariably adopted on every subsequent 
occasion. 

The suggestions of the president for the revision of measures of the 
federalists, among others, for the repeal of internal taxes, the reduction 
of the diplomatic corps, the hauling up of the navy, the abolition of cer- 
tain offices, and revision of the judiciary, were taken into consideration 
by Congress. A bill was passed to repeal the recent law establishing cir- 
cuit courts, by which the judges who had been appointed by Mr. Adams 
were expelled from office. In the house of representatives the two 
great champions in debate on this bill were James A. Bayard and William 
B. Giles. The former contended that Congress had not the power to de- 
prive the judges of their stations, by the indirect course of repealing the 
law under v>diich they were appointed. In the senate the two principal 
speakers were Gouverneur Morris and Stephens T. Mason. The leading 
arguments in favor of the repeal were, that the new courts were useless, 
and that there was no constitutional objection to abolishing them. By the 
opponents of the administration, an act repealing any part of the judiciary 
system was considered ominous to the independence of the judicial de- 
partment, but as no attempt was made to demolish the supreme court, by 
altering the constitution, and as the new circuit courts might be dispensed 
with, without much inconvenience to the public, the apprehensions of the 
federalists on this subject gradually subsided. 

The other most important acts of this session, were, the apportionment 
of representation by the census of 1800, the ratio being continued at one 
representative for 33,000 inhabitants ; for protecting American commerce 
and seamen against Tripolitan cruisers which had previously captured 
our vessels ; for fixing the military peace establishment, which provided 
for the continuance only of one regiment of artillery, two regiments of in- 
fantry, and a corps of engineers to be stationed at West Point, on the Hud- 
son river, and to constitute a military academy at that place ; for regula- 
ting trade and intercourse with the Indian tribes, and for the preservation 
of peace on the frontiers ; for discontinuing the several acts laying inter- 
nal taxes on stills, distilled spirits, refined sugars, carriages, stamped pa- 
per, and licenses to retailers and for sales at auction ; for establishing a 
uniform system of naturalization, and repealing former laws on the subject 
(the time of residence of aliens in the United States was reduced to five 
years, in conformity with the suggestion of President Jefierson, instead 
of fourteen years, as required by the act of 1798) ; for redeeming the 
public debt, by which it was provided to appropriate annually seven mil- 
lions and three hundred thousand dollars to the sinking fund ; for author- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 129 

izing the people of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the 
Ohio river (Ohio), to form a constitution and state government, and for ad- 
mitting such state into the Union ; authorizing the erection of certain 
lighthouses ; and for altering and establishing certain postroads, and for 
the more secure carriage of the mail. The act passed in 1799, to aug- 
ment the salaries of certain officers of government, was revived, and con- 
tinued in force for two years. 

An attempt was made to discontinue the mint establishment, on account 
of the great expense attending it, but the senate did not concur in the bill for 
that purpose which passed the house. A proposition for abolishing the navy 
department, and placing the concerns of the navy under the direction of the 
secretary of war also failed at this session. The disbanding of the pro- 
visional army, which had been ordered by the preceding Congress, opera- 
ted to reduce very considerably the national expenses. But the act now 
passed to provide for the redemption of the public debt, was only nominal 
in its operations ; new loans were effected, and the reduction of the debt 
by the act was only in theory, as the appropriations for expenses for 1802 
were more than equal to the receipts of the previous year. 

It was the policy of the party now in power, to attach odium to their 
opponents for the measures of preceding administrations, and to impress 
upon the public mind the idea that they were more anxious than their 
predecessors to secure the liberty and to lessen the burdens of the people. 
But, in many important particulars, the course pursued by former admin- 
istrations, was still followed ; the democratic party being satisfied with 
the possession of the control of the appointing power of the general gov- 
ernment, and with the repeal of such prominent federal measures as they 
deemed unpopular. They were not, therefore, anxious to suggest new 
measures of a positive character. 

The report of the new secretary of the treasury stated that the accounts 
of his federal predecessor in that department, also of the state, war, and 
navy departments, were correct ; no delinquencies having occurred. 

At the second session of the same Congress, which lasted from the 6th 
of December, 1802, to the 3d of March, 1803, no changes in the general 
policy of the administration being proposed by the president, but few acts 
of general interest were passed ; the most important was a law to pre- 
vent the importation of negroes, mulattoes, or other persons of color (not 
being natives, citizens, or seamen of the United States, or seamen, natives 
of countries beyond the Cape of Good Hope), into any port of the United 
States within a state which had prohibited by law the admission of any 
such negro or person of color, under penalty of one thousand dollars and 
the forfeiture of the vessel in which such person was imported. The 
time had not then arrived when the importation of slaves was prohibited 
by the constitution, and this law was passed in conformity to the laws of 
certain states which had been passed to prohibit the importation of slaves. 
9 



130 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

Another important act of this Congress, was one wliich authorized the 
president, to call upon the executives of such of the states as he might 
deem expedient, for a detachment of militia, not exceeding eighty thou- 
sand, or to accept the services of any corps of volunteers, in lieu of mili- 
tia, for a term of twelve months. Twenty-five thousand dollars were, by 
the same act, appropriated for the erection of arsenals on the western 
waters. 

There was at this time much apprehension of a war with Spain, which 
induced Congress to take the measures of precaution abovementioned. 
The disputes with the Spanish government respecting the southwestern 
boundary line of the United States, and the right of navigating the Mis- 
sissippi, had often caused difficulties between the people of the west and 
southwest and the Spanish authorities and inhabitants of the Spanish ter- 
ritories. These affairs assumed a new aspect by the intelligence received 
in the United States in the spring of 1802, that Spain, by a secret treaty, 
in October, 1800, had ceded Louisiana to France. By a treaty with 
Spain, in 1795, that government had granted to the United States the right 
of deposite at New Orleans for three years, after which the privilege was 
either to be continued, or an equivalent place assigned on another part of 
the banks of the Mississippi, tn October, l602, the Spanish intendant 
declared, by proclamation, that the right of deposite at New Orleans no 
longer existed. 

This measure caused much excitement among the people of the west- 
ern states and territories in the valley of the Mississippi. Congress was 
beset from all quarters with complaints and statements of grievances. 
The excitement increased as soon as the petitioners heard the news of 
the cession to France, and, according to the generally-received opinion, 
the suspension had only taken place in consequence of the demand of the 
French government. The Spaniards, nevertheless, considered themselves 
masters of Louisiana, so long as the formalities of the cession to France 
were not fulfilled. By the terms of the treaty between Spain and France, 
Louisiana " was to be delivered up in its present state" to the French. 
This present state was believed to be the exclusion of the Americans 
from the port of New Orleans. Americans drew from this circumstance 
the inference that the Spanish intendant had not acted without orders, that 
the prohibition had been concerted between the two powers, to enforce 
which an army was then expected from France. 

Mr. Jefferson had information of the cession of Louisiana to France, 
early in 1 802, and wrote Mr. Livingston, United States minister to France, in 
April, 1802, giving his views on the subject. It was imderstood that the 
Floridas either were included in the cession of Louisiana, or would be 
added to it, a supposition which proved to be incorrect. The views of the 
president, as stated to Mr. Livingston, were, that if France took' posses- 
sion of New Orleans the United States must become allies of Great 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 131 

Britain and antagonists of France. He then suggests, however, that if 
France considers Louisiana as indispensable to her interests, she may 
still cede to the United States the island of New Orleans and the Flori- 
das. That this cession would, in a great degree, remove the causes of 
irritation, and at any time prevent the necessity of resorting to arrange- 
ments with Great Britain. 

The cession of Louisiana to France, was first communicated to Con- 
gress by the president, in his annual message, in December, 1802, in 
which the subject is briefly noticed. It was, however, soon seized upon 
by the opponents of the administration, and resolutions were offered by 
Mr. Griswold, of Connecticut, in the house, calling upon the president for 
information respecting the cession of Louisiana ; and in the senate, by 
Mr. Ross, of Pennsylvania, seconded by Gouverneur Morris, of New 
York, authorizing the president to take possession of such places in or 
near New Orleans as he deemed fit, and to call into service the militia of 
the adjoining states with the forces of the nation. 

These resolutions were superseded by others, but the right of naviga- 
ting the Mississippi was asserted by both houses, and a place of deposite 
insisted on. 

The president seemed to think that it v/as the object of the federal 
party in Congress to force the country into a war with Spain, " in order 
to derange our finances," and if that could not be done, " to attach the 
western country to tAem, as their best friends, and thus get again into 
power." With a view of carrying his pacific policy into effect, he, on 
the 10th of January, 2803, appointed James Monroe, minister plenipoten- 
tiary to France, to act with Mr. Livingston in the purchase of New Or- 
leans and the Fioridas. The nomination of Mr. Monroe was confirmed 
by the senate, and Congress appropriated, at the request of Mr. Jefferson, 
two million-? ^f dollars for the objects of the mission. 

The ipstructions to Messrs. Monroe and Livingston only asked for the 
cession of the city of New Orleans and the Floridas ; that the course of 
the Mississippi should be divided by a line that would put New Orleans 
withm the territory of the United States, thus securing the free navigation 
of the river. Projects for the cession of the entire colony of Louisiana, 
vere at that time neither popular, nor, if entertained by any, were they the 
subjects of much discussion. 

Mr. Livingston, the American minister at Paris, was persuaded that the 
United States would never possess New Orleans by treaty, and that it 
ought to be taken by force. Mr. Monroe sailed from New York on the 
8th of March, 1803, but as the object of his mission was kept secret, the 
public apprehension was not quieted. 

Napoleon Bonaparte w^as then first consul of France. He supposed, 
when informed of the instructions to Monroe and Livingston, that those 
ministers were authorized, if necessary, to enter into more extended stip- 



132 • ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

Illations in relation to the projected acquisition. Europe was then enjoy- 
ing a momentary respite after the wars and revolutions she had undergone. 
But another war was about breaking out between France and England. 

The Marquis de Marbois was directed by Napoleon to negotiate with 
the American ministers. " Irresolution and deliberation," said the first 
consul, " are no longer in season. I renounce Louisiana. It is not 
only New Orleans that I will cede ; it is the whole colony, without any 
reservation. I know the price of what I abandon, and I have sufficiently 
proved the importance that I attach to this province, since my first diplo- 
matic act with Spain had for its object the recovery of it. I renounce it 
with the greatest regret. To attempt to retain it would be folly. I direct 
you to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not 
even wait the arrival, of Mr. Monroe : have an interview this very day 
with Mr. Livingston. But I require a great deal of money for this war, 
and I would not like to commence with new contributions. If I'should 
regulate my terms, according to the value of these vast regions to the 
United States, the indemnity would have no limits. I will be moderate, 
in consideration of the necessity in which I am of making a sale. But 
keep this to yourself. I want fifty mili;ons [francs], and for less than that 
sum I will not treat ; I Avould rather make a desperate attempt to keep 
those fine countries. To-morrow you shall lave full powers. Mr. Mon- 
roe is on the point of arriving. To this minister t\ie president must have 
given secret instructions, more extensive than the ostensible authorization 
of Congress, for the stipulation of the payments to be made. Neither this 
minister nor his colleague is prepared for a decision which goes infinitely 
beyond anything that they are about to ask of us. Begin by making them 
the overture without any subterfuge. You will acquaint nie, day by day, 
hour by hour, of your progress. The cabinet of London is informed of 
the measures adopted at Washington, but it can have no suspiuon of those 
which I am now taking. Observe the greatest secresy, and recommend 
it to the American ministers ; they have not a less interest than yourself 
in conforming to this counsel. You will correspond with M. de Talley- 
rand, who alone knows my intensions. If I attended to his advice, France 
would confine her ambition to the left bank of the Rhine, and would only 
make war to protect any dismemberment of her possessions. But he also 
admits that the cession of Louisiana is not a dismemberment of France. 
Keep him informed of the progress of this affair." 

The conferences began the same day, between Mr. Livingston and M. 
Barbe Marbois, to whom the first consul confided this negotiation. But 
the American minister had not the necessary powers. He had resided at 
Paris about two years. The first object of his mission had been indem- 
nities claimed by his countrymen for prizes made by the French during 
peace. The vague answers, and even the expectations that had been held 
out to him, had been attended with no result. Having, therefore, become 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 133 

distrustful, Mr. Livingston feared that the overtures relating to Louisiana 
were only an artifice to gain time. He received, without putting entire 
confidence in it, the overture vv^hich was made to him by Marbois, of a 
cession of the whole province. However, after some discussion on a sum 
that was vaguely brought forward, he refused to go beyond thirty millions 
of francs, saving an augmentation of this price by the amount of the in- 
demnity to be given for the prizes taken from the Americans in time of 
peace. He was, indeed, unwilling to agree upon so high a price, unless 
the stipulation was accompanied by a clause of not making any payments 
till after the ratification by Congress.* 

These preliminary discussions were scarcely entered upon, when infor- 
mation was received of the arrival of Mr. Monroe at Havre. Mr. Liv- 
ingston, who, Marbois says, was always inclined to feel distrust, in conse- 
quence of the many deceptions that had been previously practised upon 
him, wrote to Mr. Monroe on the 10th of April, to whom he says: "I 
congratulate you on your safe arrival. We have long and anxioiftly 
waited for you. God grant that your mission may answer your and the 
public expectation. War may do something for us, nothing else would. 
I have paved the way for you, and if you could add to my memoirs an 
assurance that we were now in possession of New Orleans, we should do 
well." 

Mr. Monroe arrived at Paris on the 12th of April, 1803. "I wish," 
said Mr. Livingston to him, " that the resolution offered by Mr. Ross, in 
the senate, had been adopted. Only force can give us New Orleans. We 
must employ force. Let us first get possession of the country, and nego- 
tiate afterward." Mr. Monroe, anxious, though not discouraged, began 
his conferences the next day, with M. de Marbois. The powers of which, 
he (Monroe) was the bearer, Avere common to him and Mr. Livingston. 
The French and American ministers had an equal interest in not allowing 
the negotiation to linger ; it had at last a central point, and made rapid 
progress. The first difficulties were smoothed by a rare circumstance. 
The plenipotentiaries, having been long acquainted, were disposed to treat 
one another with mutual confidence. Marbois had been engaged for thir- 
ty-five years in public affairs of great importance. He had, during the 
whole war of the American revolution, resided near the Congress. The 
affairs of America had long been familiar to him, and two years and a 
half of exile to Sinnamari.had made him still better acquainted with the 
wants and general condition of the French colonies. 

The three negotiators had seen the origin of the republic of the United 
States, and for a long time back their respective duties had established 
between them an intercourse on public afiairs, and an intimacy which does 
not always exist between foreign envoys and the ministers of the powers 
to whom they are sent. This good understanding of the plenipotentiaries 
» Marbois's History of Louisiana. 



134 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

did not prevent their considering it a duty to treat, on both sides, for the 
conditions most advantageous to their respective countries. 

Mr. Monroe did not hear without surprise the first overtures that were 
frankly made by M. de Marbois. Instead of the cession of a town and 
its inconsiderable territory', a vast portion of America was offered to the 
United States. They only asked for the mere right of navigating the 
Mississippi, and their sovereignty was about to be extended over the lar- 
gest rivers of the world. They passed over an interior frontier to carry 
their limits to the great Pacific ocean. 

Deliberation succeeded to astonishment. The two joint plenipotentia- 
ries, without asking an opportunity for concerting measures out of the 
presence of the French negotiator, immediately entered on explanations, 
and the conferences rapidly succeeded one another. 

The negotiation had three objects : First, the cession, then the price, 
and finally, the indemnity due for captures by the French of American 
vessels and cargoes. The subject of the cession was first considered. 
The full powers of the American plenipotentiaries only extended to an 
arrangement respecting the left bank of the Mississippi, including New 
Orleans. It was impossible for them to have recourse to their govern- 
ment for more ample instructions. Hostilities were on the eve of com- 
mencing between France and England. The American envoys had not 
to reflect long to discover that the circumstances in which France was 
placed, were the most fortunate for their country. 

M. de Marbois, from whose history of the cession of Louisiana Ave have 
taken the above particulars, then goes on to state, that the American min- 
isters having assumed the responsibility of treating for the purchase of the 
entire colony, instead of a part only of the same, the terms were soon 
agreed upon between the negotiators. 

The assent of Spain to this negotiation was deemed necessary, as that 
power had reserved, by the treaty of October 1, 1800, a right of prefer- 
ence, in case of cession by France. But the delays which would have 
been occasioned by sending from Paris to Madrid, with the usual tardi- 
ness in the deliberations of the Spanish cabinet, would have led to a total 
failure of the negotiation. The treaty was, therefore, not communicated 
to the Spanish ministry till after its conclusion. They complained bitterly 
of the little regard that had been paid to a right that was reserved to 
Spain, and for nearly a year it was impossible to obtain from that court an 
approbation of the treaty. Finally, on the 10th of February, 1804, Don Pe- 
dro Cavallos, the Spanish minister, wrote to Mr. Pinckney, minister of the 
United States, that " his catholic majesty had thought fit to renounce his 
opposition to the alienation of Louisiana made by France, notwithstanding 
the solid reasons on which it is founded : thereby giving a new proof of 
his benevolence and friendship to the United States." 

Two important conventions signed the same day by the American and 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 135 

French negotiators, were annexed to the treaty, as well as referred to in 
it The first* related to the paynaent of the price of the cession. The first 
consul [Bonaparte], supposing that he carried his valuation very high, had 
said that he calculated on fifty millions of francs. The French plenipo- 
tentiary [Marbois], without entering into any explanation with him, con- 
sidered this estimate a good deal too low, and, as soon as the price be- 
came the subject of conference, stated that it was fixed at eighty millions, 
and that it would be useless to propose a reduction. 

The American plenipotentiaries could not have foreseen that the 
negotiation would become so important, and they were without special 
powers to consent to pay the price that was demanded. " Our fellow-cit- 
izens," said Mr. Livingston, " have an extreme aversion to public debts ; 
how could we, without incurring their displeasure, burden them with the 
enormous charge of fifteen millions of dollars ?" 

M. de Marbois, on his part, insisted upon the first demand of eighty 
millions, and said, that for the United States, this was a sum very much 
below the true value of these immense territories. 

The two plenipotentiaries finally acquiesced, on condition that twenty 
millions out of the eighty should be employed in a manner settled by a 
special convention. This became the third instrument in the negotiation. 
The cession of Louisiana afforded the means of realizing promises made 
by the French government, that had been long illusory, namely, to pay the 
claims of Americans arising from requisitions, seizures, and captures of 
ships, made in time of peace. The American negotiators consented to 
pay eighty millions of francs for Louisiana, on condition that twenty mill- 
ions of this sum should be assigned to the payment of what was due by 
France to the citizens of the United States. 

The payment of the sixty millions of francs to the French government 
was made through Messrs. Hope and Labouchere, of Amsterdam, and 
Barings, of London, as no French banker was willing to become the me- 
dium of so considerable a pecuniary transaction. The terms agreed on, 
as well fur the payment of what was due to the French treasury, as for the 
indemnity to the American merchants, were punctually observed. For the 
payment of the sixty millions, it was agreed that the government of the 
United States was to create a stock of eleven millions two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars, bearing an interest of six per cent, per annum, pay- 
able half-yearly in London, Amsterdam, or Paris ; the principal of the 
said stock to be reimbursed at the treasury of the United States in annual 
payments of not less than three millions of dollars each ; of which the first 
payment was to commence fifteen years after the date of the exchange of 
ratifications ; the stock to be transferred to the government of France, or 
their agents, in three months after the exchange of the ratifications of the 
treaty, and after Louisiana should be taken possession of by the United 
States. 



136 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

The treaty was concluded on the 30th of April, 1803, and the respective 
instruments which, were drawn up in French and English, were signed 
by the three ministers four days afterward. Two months had not then 
elapsed since Mr. Monroe had sailed from New York for France. As 
soon as they had signed the important papers, the negotiators rose and 
shook hands, when Mr. Livingston, expressing the general satisfaction, 
said : " We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole 
lives. The treaty which we have just signed has not been obtained by 
art, or dictated by force ; equally advantageous to the two contracting par- 
ties, it will change vast solitudes into flourishing districts. From this 
day the United States take their place among the powers of the first 
rank ; the English lose all exclusive influence in the affairs of America." 

The first consul had followed with a lively interest the progress of this 
negotiation. It will be recollected that he had mentioned fifty millions as 
the price which he would put on the cession ; and it may well be believed 
that he did not expect to obtain so large a sum. He learned that eighty 
millions had been agreed on ; but that they were reduced to sixty, by the 
stipulation for American claims on France. To this he at first objected, but 
being brought to recollect that he had consented to a much smaller sum, 
he said to Marbois : " It is true, the negotiation • does not leave me any- 
thing to desire : sixty millions for an occupation that will not, perhaps, 
last for a day ! I would that France should enjoy this unexpected capital, 
and that it may be employed in works beneficial to her marine. This ac- 
cession of territory strengthens for ever the power of the United States ; 
and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later 
humble her pride." 

Hostilities commenced between France and England on the 22d of 
May, 1803, by the capture of some French merchant-vessels. On the 
same day, Bonaparte gave his ratification to the treaty of cession of Lou- 
isiana, without waiting for that of the United States. It was important 
that the accomplishment of this formality on the part of France, should 
not leave any ground for considering the colony as still French. The rati- 
fications, and their exchange, it was presumed, could experience no delay 
at Washington ; and after these proceedings, and the delivery of posses- 
sion to the United States, any attempt of the English on Louisiana would 
have been directed against a province of the American union. 

The treaty was received in the United -States in July, and was ratified 
by the senate on the 20th of October, 1803, by 24 votes to 7. It was 
opposed by the federal party generally, and principally on two grovmds, 
namely, First, that the territory of the United States was already abundantly 
sufficient for one government of a republican character, and that that there 
were immense tracts of wild lands to be filled up east of the Mississippi ; 
secondly, that the purchase of Louisiana was unconstitutional ; and that 
if the provisions and plain meaning of the national compact were violated 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 137 

or disregardetl, it would prove a most injurious precedent. The govern- 
ment, it was said, might as well purchase Canada, Nova Scotia, Mexico, 
or Cuba. " There were," says Bradford, " probably some party prejudices 
operating to produce or reiterate these objections, and to represent the act 
as at once arbitrary and unconstitutional. The purchase was long a topic 
of dispute between the friends and the opponents of the administration." 
Some of the leading federalists, of enlarged views, however, approved of 
the measure. Among these may be named Gouverneur Morris, whose 
opinions on this subject have been confirmed by the national expe- 
rience. 

The area of the country thus ceded, according to the claims of France, 
and the estimate of Mr. Jeflerson, exceeded a million of square miles ; 
but all, except a very small proportion of it, was occupied by savages, its 
natural proprietors. Its inhabitants were principally French, and de- 
scendants of French, with a few Spanish Creoles, Americans, English, 
and Germans. The whole number amounted to 80,000, or 90,000 inhab- 
itants, including about 40,000 slaves. 

The preceding statements confirm the remarks of Mr. Tucker, in his 
life of Jefferson : " The American ministers, instead of merely purchasing 
New Orleans and the Floridas, as had been the first and main object of 
Mr. Jeff'erson, were able to effect a purchase of all Louisiana, equal in 
extent to the whole previous territory of the United States. They owed 
their good fortune to the war which was so suddenly renewed between 
France and England, when the government of France, convinced that the 
possession of Louisiana would soon be wrested from her by the superior 
naval power of England, readily consented to make sale of it to a third 
power, and the rather, as the purchase-money was particularly acceptable 
to France at that time. If fortune had a full share of agency in this ac- 
quisition, it is no small praise to the administration that they had foreseen 
the probability of the result, and had promptly and skilfully availed them- 
selves of the occasion so as best to secure and promote the aggrandize- 
ment of their country." 

Mr. Jefferson did not think that the constitution authorized this addition 
to the territory of the United States, and he considered that it would be 
necessary to obtain a special amendment for that purpose. In a letter to 
Mr. Breckenridge, he remarks : " The constitution has made no provision 
for our holding foreign territory, still less for incorporating foreign nations 
into our Union. The executive, in seizing the fugitive occurrence which 
so much advances the good of their country, have done an act beyond the 
constitution. The legislature, in casting behind them metaphysical subtle- 
ties, and risking themselves like faithful servants, must ratify and pay for 
it, and throw themselves on their country for doing for them unau- 
thorized, what we know they would have done for themselves, had they 
been 'in a situation to do it. But we shall not be disavowed by the nation, 



138 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

and their act of indemnity will confirm and not wea^ven the constitution, 
by more strongly marking out its lines." 

The contemplated amendment to the constitution, or " act of indemni- 
ty," as Mr. Jefferson calls it, never took place. The treaty received the 
sanction of the government in its different branches, and the measure was 
so generally acquiesced in by the people, that after a time it ceased to be 
a disputed question, either of constitutionality or expediency. 

Mr. Jefferson suggested that the less that was said about any constitu- 
tional difficulty, the better ; and that it was desirable for Congress to do 
what was necessary in silence. This caution was probably dictated from 
an apprehension of the effect of such discussions in France, the govern- 
ment of which, as the American ministers were informed, showed a dis- 
position to declare the treaty void, if any pretext were furnished by the 
United States. 

The president, with a view to provide for carrying the Louisiana treaty 
into effect, called Congress together on the 17th of October, 1803, about 
three weeks earlier than the day that had been previously fixed by the 
preceding Congress, when they adjourned in March, 1803. 

This was the eighth Congress, and there was a large democratic ma- 
jority in both branches. Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina was again 
chosen speaker of the house. 

The treaty was ratified by the senate on the 20th of October, by a vote 
of 24 to 7, and on the 22d it was officially communicated to both houses, 
that they might provide for its execution. An act of Congress was 
passed within fourteen days of the time of assembling, making provision 
for the occupation and temporary government of Louisiana, under the au- 
thority of the president ; and eleven millions of dollars were appropriated 
as the purchase money — the remaining four millions being reserved for 
the indemnity of American citizens who had sustained losses by French 
spoliations on our commerce. The general resolution for carrying 
the treaty into effect, was adopted in the house of representatives by a 
vote of 90 to 25 ; and the resolutions for a provincial government and for 
the appropriation required for the purchase, were passed without a 
division. 

At an early day of this session of Congress, an amendment to the 
constitution of the United States was proposed, relative to the election of 
president and vice-president, so as to designate which person was voted 
for as president, and which as vice-president ; instead of the original ar- 
ticle, which required the electors to vote for two persons for these offices, 
of whom the one who had the highest number of votes was to be presi- 
dent. The amendment was proposed by the republicans, to provide against 
the disappointment which had threatened them at the election in 1801, and 
which had caused so much bitterness of feeling. The federalists opposed 
the amendment as an unwise departure from the spirit and design of the 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 139 

constitution, which was, that two persons, fully qualified for the office of 
chief magistrate, should be voted for, without a specific and exclusive 
designation of one to the presidency ; and thus in case of the death of 
one, the other, who would succeed, would be equal to the discharge of 
the high trust. But the political friends of the president were resolved to 
prevent the recurrence of a similar difficulty with that which had haz- 
arded the choice of Mr. Jefferson in 1801. They also urged in favor of 
the proposed alteration of the constitution that it was more simple, direct, 
and proper, to designate which candidate was intended to be president, by 
the votes of the electors. 

The amendment was agreed to, by the votes of two thirds of the mem- 
bers of both branches of Congress, and within the year 1804 it was 
ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, as re- 
quired by the constitution. Thirteen states were in favor of it, and three 
states only, namely, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware, disap- 
proved of the change. This amendment, which forms the 12th article of 
the amendments to the constitution, was announced by the secretary of 
state, in a public notice dated the 25th of September, 1804, as having 
been duly adopted and ratified. 

At this session of Congress the salaries of the principal officers of the 
government were raised nearly twenty per cent. Additional duties were 
imposed on imports to defray the expenses of the naval establishment then 
required in the Mediterranean to protect American commerce from, the 
piratical cruisers of Tripoli. The United States navy employed in that 
sea was small in force, but effectual in checking the operations of the 
pirates of that quarter. The American officers and men gained much 
reputation by their valor and good conduct in the contest with Tripoli. 

An additional law was passed by Congress on the subject of the natu- 
ralization of aliens, and the time of residence required previous to their 
becoming citizens was placed on its original footing of five years, instead 
of fourteen. The federalists opposed this law, as they deemed it unreason- 
able to admit foreigners to all the rights of those bom and educated in the 
United States, until they had resided a longer time in this country, while 
they were readily allowed protection and equal justice. By a law passed 
in March, 1804, respecting Louisiana, two separate governments were 
established in that territory, to be organized as the president might 
direct. 

Judge Pickering, of the district court of the United States for New 
Hampshire, was impeached before the senate by the house of representa- 
tives at this session. The charges against him being proved, showing his 
unfitness for conducting the business of the court, in consequence of occa- 
sional intoxication, he was found guilty, and dismissed from office. The 
house of representatives also decided to prepare articles of impeachment 
against Judge Chase, of Maryland, of the supreme court of the United 



140 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

States, and against Judge Peters, of Pennsylvania, of the United States 
district court. A committee was appointed to draw up articles in form, 
but the subject was postponed to the next session. 

The friends of the judiciary system and of the independence of the 
courts, were alarmed at these proceedings, which they thought indicated 
a disposition in the democratic party to seek occasions to attack the judges 
and render them odious to the people. Judge Peters was charged with 
arbitrary and illegal conduct, and the facts alleged were considered fully 
proved, but his intended impeachment was not further prosecuted. The 
charges against Judge Chase were for similar oppressive and arbitrary 
conduct in the trial of a person indicted for treason, and for displaying ma- 
lignant and party feelings on several occasions, particularly in the trial of 
a person in Virginia, under the sedition act. The trial before the senate, 
at the next session, on this impeachment, resulted in the acquittal of the 
judge. 

The bankrupt law which had been enacted under Mr. Adams's adminis- 
tration, was repealed at the first session of the eighth Congress, at the in- 
stance, it is believed, of Mr. Jefferson, and certainly with his hearty con- 
currence, as we are informed by his biographer, Mr. Tucker. As this 
law authorized a majority of the creditors to discharge a bankrupt trader 
from all his preceding debts, it was regarded by many of the other classes 
of the people as an invidious privilege to the mercantile community ; es- 
pecially in the southern states, where the agricultural pursuits are pre- 
dominant. It was, for this and other reasons, not viewed with favor by a 
large portion of the people, although many approved of the law, which 
they considered necessary in a commercial nation like the United States. 
The question on the repeal was carried in the house of representatives by 
99 votes to 13. On the 27th of March, 1804, Congress adjourned, after a 
session of 163 days. 

President Jefferson had, in a confidential message to Congress, in Jan- 
uary, 1803, recommended an appropriation for defraying the expense of 
an exploring expedition across the continent to the Pacific ocean, which 
appropriation was made, and the enterprise was placed under the direction 
of Captains Lewis and Clarke. This suggestion was made before the 
acquisition of Louisiana by the United States, and it had long been a fa- 
vorite object with Mr. Jefferson to explore this part of North America- 
Before the expedition was ready to start, however, the treaty with France 
had been ratified. The exploring party consisted of thirty individ- 
uals, including the two leaders, and left the banks of the Mississippi 
for the Pacific on the 14th of May, 1804. Mr. Jefferson himself pre- 
pared the instructions for Captain Lewis, which were drawn up with 
much wisdom and forecast. The expedition was eminently successful in 
geographical discoveries, and furnished the first particular information re- 
specting the extensive country between the Mississippi and the Pacific 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. Ill 

ocean. The exploring party was absent on this service about two years 
and three months. 

The difficulties with Spain had been of long continuance, and related 
principally to claims to territory on the Mississippi, and numerous spolia- 
tions by Spain on American commerce. Some of the people of the Uni- 
ted States were in favor of a war with Spain at this period, but pacific 
counsels prevailed. The objections Spain had made to the Louisiana 
treaty had been withdrawn, but new difficulties arose in attempts to nego- 
tiate a treaty respecting the boundaries and other matters in dispute.* 

The presidential election coming on in 1 804, Mr. Jefferson was nomi- 
nated for re-election, and George Clinton, of New York was placed on 
the ticket with him as a candidate for vice-president, in place of Colonel 
Burr, who had lost the confidence of the democratic party, which had 
elected him in 1801. The federalists nominated Charles Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney, of South Carolina, for President, and Rufus King, of New York, for 
vice-president. The result showed the great popularity of Mr. Jefferson's 
administration; the republican candidates receiving 162 votes, and the 
federal candidates but 14. 

The war Avith Tripoli was brought to a close by the vigor and energy 
displayed by the American squadron in the Mediterranean ; five frigates 
having been sent to that quarter in 1804, under the command of Com- 
modore Preble, who soon brought the bey to terms, and peace was 
restored. 

The second session of the eighth Congress commenced on the 5th of 
November, 1804, and terminated with the expiration of Mr. Jefferson's first 
term, on the 3d of March, 1805. The public debt had been increased by 
the purchase of Louisiana, and the Mediterranean fund, or extra duties 
on imports, was continued, to pay the expenses of the war with Tripoli. 
For the defence of the American seacoast, the president recommended 
the gunboat system, which in fact had been commenced in 1803, by an 
act of Congress authorizing a certain number of gunboats to be built. 
More of these vessels were now advised by the president, as the cheap- 
est and most effectual means of defence for the harbors of the United 
States. Congress, neither fulfilling the wishes of the executive, nor alto- 
gether resisting them, gave Mr. Jefferson the means of partially trying his 
favorite scheme, by the appropriation of sixty thousand dollars. 

The sufficiency of this species of naval defence occasioned a good 
deal of discussion at this time, between the opponents and the supporters 
of the administration. A navy had been vehemently opposed by the re- 
publican party during Mr. Adams's presidency, as altogether unsuited to 
the means of the. United States, as inadequate to its defence, and more 
injurious to their commerce by involving the country in war, than by any 
protection it could afford. In the meanwhile, the insults to which our 

* Bradford. 



'-% 



142 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

merchant ships and seamen were exposed on the ocean, made the com- 
mercial states call aloud for some measure of protection. It is probable 
that these circumstances had an influence in recommending this cheap 
marine, which promised some defence to our harbors and coasts, and 
which at the same time did not subject the party in power to the 
charge of inconsistency. But the scheme was vehemently assailed by 
the adversaries of Mr. Jefferson, in every form of argument and ridi- 
cule, and was triumphantly adduced as a further proof that he was not 
a practical statesman. The officers of the navy were believed to be, with 
scarcely an exception, opposed to the system of gunboats, especially those 
who were assigned to this service. To stem the current of public opin- 
ion, which set so strong against these gunboats, and to turn it into their 
favor, Mr. Jefferson prevailed on Thomas Paine to become their advocate 
through the newspapers. He set about it with his wonted self-confidence, 
but in spite of his logic, the public, pinning its faith on experienced men, 
remained incredulous, and when, soon afterward, many of the new marine 
were driven ashore in a tempest, or were otherwise destroyed, no one 
seemed to regard their loss as a misfortune ; and the officers of the navy 
did not affect to conceal their satisfaction ; nor has any attempt been since 
made to replace them.* 

During this session of Congress there was far less of free and inde- 
pendent discussion on the measures proposed by the friends of the admin- 
istration, than had been previously practised in both branches of the 
national legislature. It appeared that on the most important subjects, the 
course adopted by the majority was the effect of caucus arrangement, or, 
in other words, had been previously agreed upon at meetings of the dem- 
ocratic members held in private. Thus the legislation of Congress was 
constantly swayed by party feelings and pledges, rather than according to 
sound reason or personal conviction. Two important laws were passed 
at this session, intended to prevent the hostile and predatory acts of per- 
sons on board of foreign vessels in the harbors and ports of the United 
States ; and to regulate the clearance of armed American merchant 
vessels.! 

The second presidential term of Mr. Jefferson commenced on the 4th 
of March, 1805. On that occasion he delivered an inaugural address be- 
fore the members of Congress and other citizens. He reminds them of 
the declarations, when he entered on the office of president four years 
before, of the principles on which he should administer the government, 
and that his conscience told him he had acted up to them, according to 
their fair import. He adverts to the liberal principles pursued in our for- 
eign relations, and their success. " We are firmly convinced," he says, 
" and we act on that conviction, that with nations, as well as individuals, 
our interests, soundly calculated, will ever be found inseparable from our 
* Tucker's Life of Jefferson. f Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 143 

moral duties." He speaks with exultation of the reduction of taxes and 
suppression of unnecessary offices, and yet with a revenue, which is 
levied on foreign luxuries, and-paid by wealthy consumers, is sufficient to 
defray the expenses of the government, to fulfil contracts with other gov- 
ernments and the Indians, and to affiord a surplus sufficient to redeem the 
public debt within a short period. That the revenue, when thus libera- 
ted, may by a just repartition among the states, and a correspondent 
amendment to the constitution, be applied, in time of peace, to " rivers, ca- 
nals, roads, arts, manufactures, education, and other great objects, in each 
state, and in time of war, it may meet all the annual expenditure within 
the year. He suggests that the newly-acquired territory will pay for 
itself before we are called upon to pay the purchase money. He notices 
and answers the objection that our territory has thereby been too much 
enlarged. He speaks of the condition of the Indian tribes as impo- 
sing new duties both on our justice and humanity — says that now being 
reduced within limits too narrow for the hunter's state, they should be 
taught agriculture and the domestic arts, and thus be prepared for civil- 
ized society ; that their own prejudices present great obstacles to this 
change, for they too " have their anti-philosophers," who dread refor- 
mation. 

In presenting the foregoing outline of his administration, he disclaims 
arrogating to himself the merit of the measures which, he says, is due 
to the character of his fellow-citizens, their representatives in Congress, 
and his associates in the executive department. Adverting to the viru- 
lence of the press against him, he says that the punishment of the offend- 
ers had been left altogether to the public indignation ; that the experi- 
ment thus made whether " freedom of discussion, unaided by power, was 
not sufficient for the protection and propagation of truth, had proved suc- 
cessful ;" that our fellow-citizens, when called to decide the question by 
their suffrage, " had pronounced their verdict, honorable to those who had 
served them, and consolatory to the friend of man, who believes he may 
be intrusted with his own affairs." He disclaims making any objec- 
tions to the laws of the states against defamatory publications, which 
he thinks may exercise a salutary coercion ; and in allusion to the sedi- 
tion laws, says that they draw the only definite line between the ines- 
timable liberty of the press and its demoralizing licentiousness. " If," he 
remarks, " there is any impropriety which the state laws can not reach, 
the defect may be supplied by the censorship of public opinion." He 
congratulates the country on the union of sentiment lately manifested, and 
anticipates that those who have not yet rallied to the same point, have an 
increasing disposition to do so ; in the meantime, forbearance is inculca- 
ted, He speaks with confidence of the principles which will govern him 
in his future administration. He is sensible of no passion Avhich could 
" seduce him knowingly from the path of justice, but being liable to err, 



144 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON'. 



from the weakness of human judgment, he should need their continued 
indulgence, and not the less for his increasing years," 

In the election for members of Congress, the preponderance of the 
democratic party was not as great as in the election of president. Of 142 
members of the house of representatives, about 40 were federalists, and 
subsequent events caused the latter to be occasionally joined by a section 
of dissatisfied republicans ; still the administration was enabled generally 
to sustain its measures by a majority of both houses. 

The ninth Congress assembled on the 2d of December, 1805, when 
Mr. Macon, of North Carolina, was for the third time elected speaker. 
Three days after the annual message of the president was communicated 
to Congress, he sent in a confidential message on the subject of our rela- 
tions with Spain, the controversies with that power still remaining unset- 
tled. This message was referred to a select committee, of which Mr. 
John Randolph, of Virginia, was chairman, and by the proceedings on 
this subject, it soon became evident that Mr. Randolph, who had been con- 
sidered a leader in the ranks of the democratic party in the house, was no 
longer to be relied on as a supporter of the administration. 

The cause of this gentleman's defection and opposition (as we are in- 
formed by Mr. Tucker, in his life of Jefferson), was his displeasure at the 
refusal of the president to appoint him minister to England ; an office un- 
solicited by Mr. Randolph himself, but applied for by some of the Virginia 
delegation in Congress, who urged the executive to give him the appoint- 
ment. When the application and rejection were made known to Mr. 
Randolph, he was deeply offended, and was soon found in the ranks of 
the opposition, the public referring his change to his resentment. 

On the 3d of January, 1806, the select committee, of which Mr. Ran- 
dolph was chairman, made a report declaring that the aggressions of 
Spain afforded ample cause of war, but that peace was the policy and in- 
terest of the United States, and they hoped that Spain would find motives 
for fulfilling her engagements, and preserving her friendly relations with 
the United States. Yet, as their territory had been insulted, the commit- 
tee submitted a resolution — that such a number of troops as the president 
should deem sufficient to protect the southern frontier, be immediately 
raised. 

On the same day a resolution was submitted by Mr. Bidwell, of Mas- 
sachusetts, a prominent democratic member — that an appropriation be 
made for the purpose of defraying any extraordinary expenses that might 
be incurred in the intercourse between the United States and foreign na- 
tions, to be borrowed and applied under the direction of the president. 

The first resolution was deemed by the administration and its friends, 
likely to involve the nation in a war with Spain, and eventually with 
France ; and the second was suggested as the means of preventing such 
a result, by enabling the president to purchase Florida. After a warm 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 145 

debate in secret session, until the 11th of January, the first resohuion, for 
raising troops, was rejected, by a vote of 72 against it to 58 in its favor. 
The minority was made up of the federal members, and some fifteen or 
twenty democrats. 

Mr. Bidwell's resolution, respecting the appropriatjpn for the purchase 
of Florida, finally passed, after much debate, and the sum appropriated 
was two millions of dollars. 

The secret debate continued to the 6th of February, during which the 
minority so far prevailed as to obtain a declaration of opinion that " an ex- 
change of territory between the United States and Spain would be the 
most advantageous mode of settling the existing differences about their 
respective boundaries," to which arrangement it was asserted the presi- 
dent was opposed. The vote, however, in favor of the resolution, was 
80 to 52. 

The course of Mr. Randolph, who carried a few of the republican 
party with him, created, at first, a sudden alarm and confusion among 
those who remained firm in the administration ranks. They, however, 
soon rallied, and continued in unbroken phalanx for the remainder of Mr. 
Jefferson's term. The opp*)sition, however, reinforced by the acquisition 
of Mr. Randolph and his friends, assailed the administration at every 
point, and often created embarrassment, when they were unable to pro- 
duce defeat. 

The interruptions to American commerce by Great Britain, on the 
ground that a neutral can not carry on a trade in time of war which is not 
permitted to it in peace, had excited great feeling throughout all the com- 
mercial states ; and most of the principal towns had memorialized Con- 
gress or the executive on the subject. The continued impressment of 
American seamen afforded a further cause of complaint. The president 
having, on the 17th of January, sent a message to Congress on these sub- 
jects, with the memorials received by the executive, various propositions 
were submitted relative thereto, in the house of representatives. On the 
17th of March, the house agreed to the policy of prohibiting the importa- 
tion of specific articles of British growth or manufacture, by a vote of 87 
to 35, the federalists generally voting in the minority. The bill laying 
this prohibition passed the house on the 28th of March, by a vote 
of 93 to 32 — federalists, with Mr. Randolph and two or three of his 
friends, constituting the minority. On the 15th of April it passed the 
senate, by a vote of 19 to 9. The prohibition was to take effect on the 
11th day of November, 

A bill was also passed interdicting all intercourse with the French part 
of the island of Hayti, which had been revolutionized by the blacks. The 
sum of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars was appropriated for forti- 
fying the ports and harbors of the United States, and two hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars for building gunboats. 
10 



116 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

The Other important measures were of a domestic character. Of these 
the first in importance as a precedent and as a measure of utility, Avas the 
act for the construction of a national road from Cumberland, in Maryland, 
to the state of Ohio, which passed on the 24th of March, 1806, by a vote 
of 66 to 50. It was opposed on the constitutional ground that the power 
of making roads was not given to Congress ; but to obviate this objection, 
the consent of the states through whose territories the road was to pass (Ma- 
ryland, Virginia, and Ohio) was first required. Yet if Congress had not 
the power of making roads, as was contended, the consent of these states 
could not give it.* The bill passed, however, with the approval of Presi- 
dent Jefferson, but the question continued to be long afterward a subject 
of controversy between those who were severally disposed to a strict, 
and a liberal construction of the constitution. 

Congress adjourned on the 2 1st of April, after a most animated and con- 
tentious session, the house of representatives having been the scene of 
constant bickering between the three parties into which it was divided, 
owing to the schism in the republican or democratic party, already re- 
ferred to. Those democrats who acted with Mr. Randolph, differed from 
the administration on some leading points of foreign policy, but while 
they voted with the federalists on these questions, and on some collateral 
points, they took especial care not to be considered by the nation as being 
merged in the federal party, not only by their general declarations, but 
by their votes on all questions not involving the policy of the administra- 
tion, on which occasions they concurred with the republicans. This party 
consisted principally of members from Virginia, and were all personally 
intimate with Mr. Randolph. This same party afterward received a great 
accession of strength in Virginia, by bringing forward Mr. Monroe as a 
candidate for the presidency, in opposition to Mr. Madison, and it was 
not until the reconciliation of these gentlemen, by the good offices of Mr. 
Jefferson, that its ranks were broken as a party, and that some of the 
scattered fragments united with the federalists, in opposition to the war 
and all the leading measures of the administration which preceded it.f 

Immediately after the decision of Congress to appropriate two millions 
of dollars for the purchase of Florida, the president appointed General 
Armstrong, of New York, and Mr. Bowdoin, of Massachusetts, joint com- 
missioners to effect, if practicable, a treaty, and an amicable settlement at 
Paris of all matters of dispute with Spain ; the affairs of that power be- 
ing then closely connected with those of France. The negotiation re- 
specting the purchase of Florida having failed, the money appropriated 
for that purpose was never drawn from the treasury. The Hornet sloop- 
of-war was despatched to France with letters of credit, to be used, if 
wanted, by the American ministers at Paris, for the purchase of Florida, 
which gave rise to a report in the United States, that two millions in specie 
* Tucker's Life of Jefferson. t ^bid. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 147 

were carried to France in that vessel, and actually paid to Bonaparte, 
without any consideration Avhatever. There was a want of cordiality be- 
tween the two American ministers at Paris, Messrs. Bowdoin and Arm- 
strong, which gradually ripened into an open collision. Mr. Monroe (who 
had, after negotiating the Louisiana treaty with France, in 1803, been ap- 
pointed minister to Great Britain, to succeed Mr. Rufus King) was called 
upon, in 1805, to join Mr. Charles Pinckney, the resident minister at 
Madrid, for the purpose of settling with Spain the disputed question of 
the boundaries of Louisiana. After spending five months with his col- 
league, Mr. Pinckney, at Madrid, in unavailing efforts to settle the dis- 
putes with Spain, Mr. Monroe returned to London in June, 1805. In 
May, 1806, Mr. William Pinkney, of Maryland, was associated with Mr. 
Monroe in the negotiation then in progress with Great Britain. 

In his private correspondence with Mr. Monroe at this time, Mr. Jef- 
ferson expressed a desire for a permanent peace with England. Mr. Fox, 
the leader of the whig party, being then a member of the British cabinet, 
Mr. Jefferson wrote to Mr. Monroe as follows : " The late change in the 
ministry I consider as insuring us a just settlement of our differences, and 
we ask no more. In Mr. Fox, personally, I have more confidence than 
in any man in England, and it is founded in what, through unquestionable 
channels, I have had opportunities of knowing of his honesty and good 
sense. While he shall be in the administration, my reliance on that gov- 
ernment will be solid. We had committed ourselves in a line of proceed- 
ing adapted to meet Mr. Pitt's policy and hostility, before we heard of his 
death [alluding to the non-importation law], which self-respect did not 
permit us to abandon afterward. It ought not to be viewed by the minis- 
try as looking toward them at all, but merely as the consequences of the 
measures of their predecessors, which their nation has called on them to 
correct. I hope, therefore, they will come to just arrangements. No two 
countries upon earth have so many points of common interest and friend- 
ship ; and their rulers must be great bunglers indeed, if, with such dispo- 
sitions, they break them asunder. The only rivalry that can arise is on 
the ocean. We ask for peace and justice from all nations, and we will 
remain uprightly neutral in fact, though leaning in belief to the opinion 
that an English ascendency on the ocean is safer for us than that of 
France." 

In the year 1806, the public mind was much excited by the expedition 
of Colonel Burr in the western country, which was supposed to have had 
for its object the dissevering of the Union and the establishment of an in- 
dependent government west of the Allegany mountains. But the circum- 
stances which were disclosed at his trial seemed rather to indicate an 
expedition ag^iinst the Spanish provinces of Mexico and adjoining territo- 
ries. Burr was arrested near Fort Stoddard, on the banks of the Tom- 
bigbee river, then in the Mississippi territory, in February, 1807, and 



148 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

thence conducted as a prisoner to Richmond, Virginia, where he was in- 
dicted by the grand jury, for high treason, in June following. He was 
put on trial, before Judges Marshall and Gilpin, and acquitted in August 
of the same year. The verdict was, " We of the jury say, that Aaron 
Burr is not proved to be guilty under this indictment, by any evidence 
submitted to us. We therefore find him not guihy." Burr was tried at 
the same court on an indictment for misdemeanor, and acquitted. 

The second session of the 9th Congi'ess lasted from the first of Decem- 
ber, 1806, to the 3d of March, 1807. The president informed the house 
that the negotiation with Great Britain was proceeding in a spirit of ac- 
commodation, since the delay occasioned by the death of the British min- 
ister (Mr. Fox) charged with that duty. He mentioned that the Amer- 
ican ministers at London (Monroe and Pinkney) had suggested that a 
temporary suspension of the non-importation act would have a happy ef- 
fect on the course of the negotiation. In pursuance of this recommenda- 
tion, a bill was passed in the house on the 6th of December, with only 
five dissentients, to suspend the act to the 1st of July, and amended in the 
senate so as to authorize the president to suspend it to the second Mon- 
day in December succeeding. 

An appropriation of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars was voted 
by the house for building thirty gunboats — ayes 68, noes 36. In con- 
formity with the recommendation of the president, a law was passed to 
prohibit the African slave-trade after the 1st of January, 1808. The tax 
on salt was repealed, and the extra duties for the Mediterranean fund were 
continued. Congress also made a liberal compensation to Captains Lewis 
and Clarke and their companions, in donations of land, for their services 
in the important expedition across the Rocky mountains to the Pacific. 

In the negotiation of a treaty with Great Britain, Mr. Fox, while in the 
cabinet, but a short time before his death, was prevented by indisposition 
from taking part, and before it had made much progress the nation was 
called upon to mourn for his decease. As Mr. Jefferson anticipated a 
complete change of ministry from this event, with his hopes of a success- 
ful negotiation greatly moderated, he thought it prudent to give more ex- 
plicit instructions to the American envoys. They were therefore in- 
formed of his views on the subjects of impressments, neutral commerce, 
blockades. East and West India trade, and indemnification ; and they 
were instructed not to enter into any treaty which did not provide some 
security against the impressment of American seamen. These despatches 
were, however, too late. They were dated the 3d of February, 1807, and 
a treaty was signed in London on the 31st of December preceding, by 
Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney on the part of the United States, and on 
the part of Great Britain by Lords Holland and Aukland. 

The day before Congress rose^ the president received from Mr. Erskine, 
the British minister at Washington, a copy of the treaty, and it fell so far 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 149 

short of what he conceived to be the just claims of the United States, as 
well as of his instructions, that he decided at once on not submitting it to 
the senate, but to try the effect of further negotiation. Besides other ob- 
jections, there were two that were insuperable. These were, that the 
treaty contained no provision whatever on the subject of impressment ; 
and because it was accompanied by a note from the British ministers, by 
which the British government reserved to itself the rigjit of releasing 
itself from the stipulations in favor of neutral rights, if the United States 
submitted to the Berlin decree, or other invasion of those rights by France. 

The treaty consisted of twenty-six articles, and confirmed the perma- 
nent and unexpired articles in Mr. Jay's treaty of 1794. On the subject 
of the rights of neutrals, and some other points, the two treaties were 
substantially the same. One of the new features in the treaty of 1806, 
was, that Great Britain consented that the United States should have a 
circuitous trade with the colonies of her enemies during the existing hos- 
tilities. This treaty was more favorable to the United States than that of 
1794, in some respects, and less advantageous in limiting the trade to the 
British colonies in India to direct voyages, and in providing no compen- 
sation for illegal captures. Mr. Tucker, in his life of Jefferson, remarks, 
that as a treaty of navigation and commerce it was not better than that ne- 
gotiated by Mr. Jay ; and that Mr. Jefferson could not, with any regard 
either to the equal rights of his country, or to his own consistency, have 
given it the sanction of his approbation, even had it been free from the 
two insuperable objections that have been mentioned. 

The course of the president, in rejecting the treaty with Great Britain, 
was soon publicly known, and caused great excitement throughout the na- 
tion. The commercial community particularly, regretted the rejection of 
the treaty, and the federal party were loud in their denunciations of the 
president, on public occasions, in conversation, and through the opposition 
press. It was insisted that the president ought to have laid the treaty be- 
fore the senate ; and if they approved, to adopt it, as it was, or to propose 
some modification of it, as was done in the case of the treaty made with 
France in 1801. The American envoys, Monroe and Pinkney, had 
signed the treaty, and they were the political friends of the president ; and 
it was believed that one more favorable could not be obtained ; that it was 
to be preferred to open war, or entire non-intercourse with Great Britain, 
for which some then contended, as the best policy. A rejection of the 
treaty, it was feared, might lead to immediate hostilities, and a system 
of non-intercourse would greatly diminish American commerce and navi- 
gation, and also provoke Great Britain to retaliate by increased depreda- 
tions, under color of exercising her belligerent rights, as necessary to her 
own safety against' die naval policy of France, her powerful rival and 
enemy. 

The democratic party fully justified the president. They insisted that 



150 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

the advice of the senate could not bind him, and ought not to prevail 
against his opinion. That it was a matter of discretion and prerogative 
with him to submit it to the senate or not ; that if in great doubt himself, 
he might lay the subject before that body, and if they advised to its adop- 
tion, to give it his consent, and place the responsibility on them. This 
might have been the most prudent course ; but if he was decidedly op- 
posed to the treaty, as injurious and dishonorable, he ought, as chief magis- 
trate, to have the power to Avithhold it. The adoption of the treaty with- 
out the additional note or article of the British ministers, would have been 
more consistent with good policy, in a neutral government, as that of the 
United States then was ; and would have manifested a sincere desire to 
conciliate Great Britain, whose good will toward America was highly im- 
portant. The rejection of the treaty had an unfavorable effect on the 
British government and their naval commanders. They thought they saw 
in it an unwillingness on the part of the president to conciliate that nation, 
or to preserve friendly relations between the two countries.* 

The American ministers who negotiated the treaty with England, com- 
plained of the manner in which it was received, as they considered it 
highly advantageous to this country, particularly with regard to two points 
of dispute, namely, the rights of neutrals and the practice of blockade 
adopted by England. On the third point in dispute, that the American 
flag should protect all who sailed under it, England, her ministers said, 
could not concede this without abandoning her maritime force ; and while 
this point was a sine qua non no adjustment with her could be effected. 
Yet Pinkney and Monroe obtained assurances from the British ministry, 
though not in the form of a treaty, which they deemed satisfactory. It 
was expressly offered by the British government, when it asserted a right 
to take its own subjects wherever found, after requesting their surrender 
of the commander of the vessel to which they then belonged, that its 
ships-of-war should give up any American citizens on board, on request 
and proof that they were such. 

There can be but little doubt that the refusal to ratify the treaty with 
Great Britain negotiated by Monroe and Pinkney, was a primary cause 
of the embargo and other restrictive measures which soon after followed, 
and finally led to the war of 1812. 

The change of ministry in England, by the death of Mr. Fox, placed 
Mr. Canning in the cabinet, as secretary for foreign affairs. Iii their in- 
terviews with Mr. Canning, after they were informed of the president's re- 
jection of the treaty, the American ministers wore soon satisfied that there 
was little probability of a more successful negotiation. In conformity with 
instructions received from Mr. Madison, secretary of state, Messrs. Mon- 
roe and Pinkney addressed a note to Mr. Canning.^n the 24th of July, 
1807, proposing a renewal of the negotiation, and submitted to him the 

• Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 151 

alterations they proposed in the rejected treaty. The attack on the Ches- 
apeake frigate caused a suspension of correspondence, so that Mr. Can- 
ning did not reply to the American ministers until the 22d of October, 
when, after justifying the reservation made of the right to retaliate the 
French decrees, and insisting that the subject of the " impressment of 
British seamen from merchant vessels" formed no part in the treaty, and 
was entitled only to a separate and subsequent discussion, he protests, in 
behalf of his government, " against a practice, altogether unusual in the 
political transactions of states, by which the American government as- 
sumes to itself the privilege of revising and altering agreements concluded 
and signed in its behalf by its agents duly authorized for that purpose ; of 
retaining so much of those agreements as may be favorable to its own 
views ; and of rejecting such stipulations, or parts of stipulations, as are 
conceived to be not sufficiently beneficial to America." He therefore in- 
forms the American ministers that the proposal " for proceeding to nego- 
tiate anew, upon the basis of a treaty already solemnly concluded and 
signed, is wholly inadmissible."* 

In a letter to Mr. Monroe, Mr. Jefferson remarked, if the treaty could 
not be made more acceptable, the next best thing was to let the negotia- 
tion die away insensibly, and in the meantime, to agree informally that 
both parties should act on the principles of the treaty, so as to preserve a 
friendly understanding. He adds, that as soon as Mr. Monroe sees the 
amendment of the treaty is desperate, he can follow his desire of return- 
ing home. Mr. Monroe therefore returned to the United States at the 
close of the year 1807. 

At this time the British maintained a squadron which cruised along the 
coast of the United States, under pretence of enforcing belligerent rights. 
Vessels-of-war belonging to France and to England might come into the 
ports of the United States. Those of France came, and those of England 
came to seek them. Five seamen had deserted from the British sloop-of- 
war Halifax, in March, 1807, and enlisted on board the United States 
frigate Chesapeake, then lying in Hampton Roads, and commanded by 
Captain Barron. Four separate demands were made for these men, but 
without success ; one on Lieut. Sinclair, of the Chesapeake ; one by the 
British consul, on the mayor of Norfolk ; one on Captain Decatur ; and 
one by the British minister, on the secretary of state. The Chesapeake 
sailed with these five men on board, but while going down the bay, all 
but one deserted and got on shore. 

On the 23d of June, when at sea, not far from the capes of Virginia, the 
Chesapeake was met by the British ship Leopard, of fifty guns, com- 
manded by Captain Humphreys. The Chesapeake carried forty-four guns. 
Humphreys sent his boat with a note to Barron, informing him that his 
commanding officer, Admiral Berkeley, had directed him to take any Brit- 

• Tucker. 



152 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

ish deserters on board the Chesapeake, by force if necessary, and to allow 
on his part of a search for American deserters. Captain Barron refused 
permission to search, and stated that he had instructed his recniiting offi- 
cer not to enhst British subjects, and that he had no knowledge that any 
were on board. On this answer being received, the Leopard fired into 
the Chesapeake, and the latter being taken by surprise, and unprepared 
for action, did not return the fire, and immediately struck her flag. A 
boat from the Leopard having been then sent to the Chesapeake, the Amer- 
ican officers tendered their swords to the British officer commanding, but 
he declined receiving them, demanded the muster-roll of the ship, and 
having taken off four men, whom he claimed as British subjects, left the 
Chesapeake, which then returned to Hampton Roads. Three of these 
men had previously entered the British service, but were Americans by 
birth, and had been formally demanded at Washington.* 

This was a gross outrage on the part of the British commander, what- 
ever the provocation may have been, because the universally-acknowl- 
edged principle is. that a national ship at sea and the territory of its na- 
tion are alike inviolable. The British government so understood this mat- 
ter, and disavowed the act of its officer, and ofTered a proper and honora- 
ble reparation, which was finally accepted before the war, and therefore 
this did not make one of the causes which led to that calamity.! 

This aflair of the Chesapeake excited the indignation of the whole 
country ; both parties cordially united in a desire that the honor of the 
country should be avenged. Many were anxious for a declaration of war 
with England, but the president preferred a pacific course, and determined 
to give Great Britain an opportunity of disavowal and reparation. This 
course proved a wise one, as the affair was finally amicably settled, after 
a somewhat tedious negotiation. 

The French emperor, Napoleon, was at this period in the full tide of 
success and conquest, having subdued and brought under his control a 
large part of continental Europe. But the English navy had nearly 
destroyed the French power at sea. The battle of Trafalgar annihilated 
the united fleets of France and Spain ; and all the principal ports of 
the French empire, with a long extent of seacoast, were held in vigorous 
blockade by the British squadrons. 

To retaliate on the British, the Emperor Napoleon devised a new plan 
of attack, which he called the Continental System. The object of this 
scheme was to cut off all intercourse between the continent of Europe 
and Great Britain, and thus weaken England by destroying this portion of 
her commerce. 

On the 21st of November, 1806, Napoleon, having defeated the Prus- 
sians, and entered Berlin, the capital of that kingdom, issued from the 
royal palace of that city his celebrated Berlin decree ; by which he de- 
• Tucker. f Sullivan. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 153 

clared the British isles in a state of blockade ; and, consequently, that 
every American or other neutral vessel going to, or coming from, these 
isles, was subject to capture. The same decree provided that all mer- 
chandise belonging to England, or coming from its manufactories, or colo- 
nies, although belonging to neutrals, should be lawful prize on land. This 
provision was carried into effect. 

General Armstrong, American minister at Paris, regarded the Berlin 
decree at first as inapplicable to American commerce, on account of the 
treaty then existing between the United States and France, but in Oc- 
tober, 1807, in answer to his inquiry as to the effect of the decree, 
the French minister of foreign relations informed him of his mistake. 
The condemnation of American vessels commenced in November fol- 
lowing. 

The British government, in retaliation of Napoleon's Berlin decree, is- 
sued their famous orders in council, dated November 11, 1807. By these 
orders, all direct trade from America to any part of Europe at war with 
Great Britain, or which excluded the British flag, was totally prohibited. 
Goods, however, were allowed to be landed in England, and, after paying 
duties, might be re-exported to Europe. On the 17th of December suc- 
ceeding, the orders in council were followed by the Milan decree of Na- 
poleon, which declared that every vessel that should submit to be searched 
by a British man-of-war, or which should touch at a British port, or should 
pay any impost whatever to the British government, should be denation- 
alized, and subject to seizure and condemnation. 

These edicts of the two belligerent powers were, of course, destructive 
to the principal part of the foreign commerce of the United States. Amer- 
ican vessels trading directly with French ports were liable to capture by 
British cruisers ; and if they touched at a British port, they were confis- 
cated on arriving in France. The British orders in council operated with 
the most severity on American commerce, as through their powerful navy 
the English possessed the means of enforcing them. 

The critical situation of our foreign relations induced the president to 
call the tenth Congress together on the 25th of October, 1807. The dem- 
ocratic majority continued large in both branches. Joseph B. Varnum, a 
friend of the administration from Massachusetts, was chosen speaker of 
the house of representatives. 

In consequence of the hostile edicts of France and England, the presi- 
dent, in a confidential special message, on the 18th of December, recom- 
mended to Congress the passage of an act laying an embargo on all ves- 
sels of the United States. The message did not allude to the British or- 
der in council, although Mr. Tucker informs us in his life of Jefferson, 
on the authority of Mr. Madison, then secretary of state, that the govern- 
ment had received information, through an authentic private channel, that 
the British ministry had issued an order against neutral commerce, in re- 



154 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 



taliation of the Berlin decree ; which information was confinned by a 
ministerial English newspaper received at the same time. 

The subject was immediately discussed in both houses of Congress, in 
secret session ; and a bill laying an embargo was passed on the 22d of 
December, 1807, at eleven o'clock at night, by a vote of 82 to 44. A sim- 
ilar bill had passed the senate on the very day the subject was introduced, 
by a vote of 22 to 6. According to this bill, all American vessels were 
prohibited from sailing for foreign ports ; all foreign vessels from taking 
out cargoes ; and all coasting vessels were required to give bond to land 
their cargoes in the United States. 

The embargo was violently opposed by the federal party and their few 
democratic associates in Congress. It was also extremely unpopular 
among a large portion of the people, particularly in the states most inter- 
ested in commerce and navigation. 

The federalists throughout the United states, denounced the restrictive 
measures of the administration, but the democratic party generally ap- 
proved of and sustained them. There were, however, some exceptions 
even among that party ; and in the city of New York a public meeting 
was held, soon after the passage of the embargo act by Congress, at which 
De Witt Clinton, then a leading democrat in the state of New York, 
presided ; and at this meeting resolutions were adopted disapproving of 
the embargo. The American Citizen, a democratic paper published in 
that city by James Cheetham, came out decidedly against the measure. 
Mr. Clinton shortly afterward renounced his opposition, and sustained this 
and other measures of Mr. Jefferson's administration. 

Those who opposed the embargo policy believed it would prove una- 
vailing in its influence to induce the British ministry to adjust existing 
disputes with the United States ; another objection to the embargo was, 
that the act contained no provision for limiting it to a definite period. An 
embargo had been laid by the continental Congress early in the war of the 
revolution, and again in 1794, during the administration of Washington ; but 
these were limited to thirty or sixty days. The act of 1807 was unlimited 
as to the term of its operation, and it could not be repealed by a majority vote 
of Congress, as the act of repeal would be subject to the president's veto, 
after which a two-third vote would be necessary in Congress. If it were 
intended as a measure of annoyance and injury to a foreign nation, it was 
putting 'it in the power of the president to make war; and if it were de- 
signed chiefly as a means of safety, it was said, the merchants were the 
best judges as to the risks and the dangers. And there was reason to be- 
lieve that the measure had been recommended and adopted at the secret 
instance of the French emperor, who sought to destroy the commerce of 
Great Britain ; and who insisted on the co-operation of the United States, 
directly or indirectly, in his plans to subjugate his enemy. The letters 
of the American envoys in Paris, afterward published, stated various con- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 155 

versations and facts which showed that the emperor expected an embargo 
would be laid by the American government, and that it would meet his 
approbation. Napoleon had said that there should be no neutrals ; that 
the United States should be decided friends, or he must treat them as en- 
emies. And he predicted in October that an embargo would be laid in 
America, which was done in December following. Mr. Jefferson used 
the following language in a confidential letter to the American minister in 
Paris, in October, 1808 : " Bonaparte does not wish us to go to war with 
England ; knowing we have not ships sufficient to carry on such a war. 
And to submit to pay England the tribute on our commerce, which she 
demands by her orders in council, would be to aid her in the war against 
France, and would give the emperor just ground to declare war on us." 

Notwithstanding the difficulties in which American commerce was in- 
volved by the conduct of both England and France, it was the opinion of 
men entitled to respect and confidence for their good judgment, that nego- 
tiations conducted in a proper spirit would have prevented the difficulties 
and evils which occurred to the United States ; and that more decision 
and firmness would have prevented war and preserved commercial pros- 
perity. In France, the American envoys expressed surprise that some 
resentment was not manifested against the French government by that of 
the United States. And the American ministers in England expressly 
declared, that a treaty might have been made with that government which, 
if not in all respects such as was desired, might have been accepted with- 
without injury or dishonor to the United States.* 

The embargo question, and subjects connected with it, occupied much 
of the time of this session of Congress, which closed on the 25th of April, 
1808. The president, on the 2d of February, communicated to Congress 
the British orders in council of the 11th of November, and on the 17th of 
March he sent to that body the Milan decree of Napoleon. Spain issued 
similar decrees soon after the latter. 

The committee of Congress to whom these and other documents were 
referred, made a report on the 16th of April, recommending for the pres- 
ent a continuance of the embargo, but that the president have power to 
suspend it until the next session of Congress. A law was therefore 
passed authorizing the executive to suspend the embargo act in the event 
of a peace in Europe, or of favorable changes in the measures of the bel- 
ligerents affecting neutral commerce. 

Some measures of defence were adopted by Congress ; such as the 
erection and repair of fortifications on the seacoast, and for building and 
marfhing a large number of gunboats ; for raising eight additional regi- 
ments of troops ; for detaching one hundred thousand of the militia for 
service, if required, and for arming the whole body of the militia in the 
United States. 

• Bradford. 



156 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

While Congress was in session. Mr. Rose, a special minister from 
England, arrived at Norfolk for the avowed purpose of adjusting the affair 
of the frigate Chesapeake. On arriving at Washington he opened a cor- 
respondence with Mr. Madison, secretary of state, but as the British envoy 
required, in conformity to his instructions, that the president's proclama- 
tion interdicting British vessels-of-war from the harbors of the United 
States, should be withdrawn before entering on the subject of reparation 
— and this being refused by our government, the negotiation was broken 
off. Mr. Rose, therefore, embarked for England about the last of March, 
in the same frigate which brought him out. 

This correspondence created a new theme for discussion between the 
two political parties of the nation ; the federalists thought the administra- 
tion wrong in not revoking the proclamation, while the democrats justified 
the president and secretary of state in the course adopted. The federal- 
ists also asserted that Mr. Jefferson was indulging his ancient animosity 
against England, and furthering the views of France, and that the em- 
bargo was recommended to the party in power chiefly by its operating 
more injuriously on England than on her enemies. 

The operation of the embargo law, although the measure was sustained by 
a majority of the American people, was the occasion of great distress, par- 
ticularly among the commercial community, throughout the United States, 
and put the patriotism and firmness of all to a severe test. Dependent as we 
were on foreign markets for the sale of our redundant products, now that 
we were not permitted to export them, they fell to half their wonted price, 
and even less. To many of the producers they did not repay the cost of 
production. The supply of foreign merchandise, too, which habit had made 
necessary, and of which there was no domestic supply, or an insufficient 
one, being cut off, its price rose proportionally high, and thus the expen- 
ses of the agricultural classes increased in the same proportion that their 
means of defraying them diminished. It bore still harder on the sailors 
and ship-owners, who were thrown entirely out of employment — and here 
the pressure was most severely felt in the states that were most addicted 
to navigation. It is true it operated as a bounty on manufactures, by ma- 
king them scarcer and dearer, but this at first benefited but a small pro- 
portion of the community. 

The embargo was also severely felt by the belligerents, and especially 
by England. The United States were the most extensive and profitable 
of all the customers of Great Britain, and the loss of our trade must be 
grievously felt by her manufacturers. Thus it was a trial between the 
two nations, England and the United States, who could suffer longest. In 
this contest, however, we lay under a disadvantage ; for, in the first place, 
we deprived Great Britain of the trade of only one nation, while we de- 
prived ourselves of the trade of all ; and in the next, our adversaries could 
procure cotton from Brazil, Egypt, and the East Indies, tobacco from South 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 157 

America, naval stores from Sweden, lumber from Nova Scotia, and grain 
from the Baltic, thoiigli at a greater cost ; but we, exporting nothing, 
were unable to import the woollens, linens, silks, hardware, and pottery, 
to which we were accustomed and which we had not yet learned to make.* 

Another disadvantage (noticed by the same writer) attending this pol- 
icy, was the change of trade from the United States, by being forced 
into new channels. Thus it was long after the peace before the West 
Indies furnished as extensive a market for American products as before 
the embargo. Whatever were the hazards of capture, from the edicts of 
the belligerents, they could be fairly estimated by the merchants, and to 
prohibit them from employing their capital in this Avay was to withhold from 
them a profit within their reach, and was an injury, not only to them, but 
to the whole class of their customers, whether producers or consumers. 
It was further injurious in increasing the profits of illicit trade, and, con- 
sequently, the temptations to engage in violations of the embargo law, 
and smuggling, to the injury of patriotic merchants and the benefit of 
those who disregarded the laws. 

The violent opposition to this measure of the administration, gradually 
weakened the democratic party and strengthened the federalists, particu- 
larly in the middle and eastern states. Still the administration were enabled 
to sustain themselves with a majority of the people. In reference to the 
operation of the embargo, Mr. Jefferson remarks, in a letter to Doctor 
Leib on the 23d of June, 1808 : " The federalists are now playing a game 
of the most mischievous tendency, without, perhaps, being themselves 
aware of it. They are endeavoring to convince England that we suffer 
more by the embargo than they do, and that, if they will but hold out 
awhile, we must abandon it. It is true, the time will come when we 
must abandon it. But if this is before the repeal of the orders in coun- 
cil, we must abandon it only for a state of war. The day is not distant 
when that will be preferable to a longer continuance of the embargo. But 
we can never remove that, and let our vessels go out and be taken under 
these orders, without making reprisal. I think that in two or three months 
we shall know what will be the issue." 

While the nation was greatly agitated by the condition of the country, 
in view of the critical state of our foreign relations, the presidential elec- 
tion came on. There was some division among the democrats in Virginia 
Avith regard to a successor of Mr. Jefferson, as president of the United 
States. It had been understood generally by the party that Mr. Madison 
would be selected, but Mr. Monroe's claims were strongly pressed by his 
personal friends, among whom was John Randolph. On the 23d of Jan- 
uary, 1808, soon after Mr. Monroe's return from England, the friends of 
each candidate tried their strength at a caucus of the members of the legis- 
lature of Virginia, when 134 declared in favor of Mr. Madison, and 47 

• Tucker. 



158 ADMINISTRATIOX OF JEFFERSON. 

for Mr. Monroe. A caucus of the democratic members of Congress was 
held at Washington on the same night, when Mr, Madison received 83 
votes, Mr. Monroe 3, and George Clinton 3. Mr. Madison was therefore 
nominated for president ; at the same time, George Clinton was nominated 
for re-election as vice-president. 

When the election came on, James Madison received 122 electoral 
votes for president, and George Clinton 113 votes for vice-president. The 
federal candidates, Charles C. Pinckney for president, and Rufus King 
for vice-president, received each 47 votes. Of the democratic votes, 6 
were given to George Clinton for president ; and for vice-president. 9 were 
given to John Langdon, 3 to James Madison, and 3 to James Monroe. 
The states which supported the federal candidates were New Hamp- 
shire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Delaware ; also 
two districts in ]Mar}'land, and three in North Carolina. 

General Armstrong, the American minister at Paris, in 1808, in pursu- 
ance of his instructions, remonstrated with M. Champagny, the French 
minister of foreign relations, against the condemnations of American ves- 
sels and cargoes under the Berlin and Milan decrees, which he showed 
to be clear infractions of the treaty of 1800. To the several remonstran- 
ces made by the American minister against the captures and burning of 
American property, no answer was given by the French government. 

Mr. Madison, secretary of state, wrote to General Armstrong on the 
29th of May, 1808, to inform him of the power given to the president to 
suspend the embargo, and requested him to inform the French government 
that the effect of revoking her decrees would be to compel Great Britain 
to follow her example, or to be at war with the United States ; and on the 
other hand, should Great Britain revoke her orders in council, France 
could not persist in her decrees without forcing a contest with the United 
States. 

Thus, instead of a suspension of the embargo, as to France, on repeal- 
ing her decrees, it was supposed that a sufficient inducement might be 
presented in other considerations. War with Great Britain was, in short, 
indicated as the consequence of such repeal. This offer was unnoticed 
by the French minister. 

Mr. Pinkney, the American minister in London, in writing to Mr. Can- 
ning, the British minister, as instructed, stated explicitly, that on Great 
Britain rescinding her orders in relation to the United States, they would 
open their trade with her, and keep it, shut to her enemy, if he failed also 
to rescind his decrees. This offer was unhesitatingly rejected. Mr. 
Canning, in reply to Mr. Pinkney, in September, 1808, said, that as the 
application made to the French government by the United States had not 
met with a favorable reception, his majesty (the king of England) could 
not change his course. That he saw nothing in the embargo to induce 
the change. If it were regarded as a measure of hostility, it was inani- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 159 

festly unjust toward him. The redress should be first made by the party 
originating the wrong. He professes every disposition to be on amicable 
terms with the United States ; says the depression of other countries is 
not desired by his nation ; that the prosperity of America is essentially 
that of Great Britain, and her strength and power are not for herself, but 
for the world. That when a readjustment of the present differences should 
take place, both nations would better appreciate the value of each other's 
friendship. 

The correspondence between Mr. Pinkney and Mr. Canning, extending 
through a series of letters, was unsatisfactory, and led to no result. The 
letters of the British minister are more remarkable for a display of wit 
and sarcasm, than for those qualities which might be expected to distin- 
guish a practical statesman of the admitted talents of Mr. Canning. 

On the 7th of November, 1808, Congress assembled, at the time ap- 
pointed at the last session, and on the 8th Mr. Jefferson sent to both 
houses his last annual message. 

The subject of the foreign relations was, on the 11th of November, re- 
ferred to a committee of the house of representatives, who, on the 22d, 
made a report, concluding with three resolutions submitted for the consid- 
eration of the house: 1st. That the United States could not, without a 
sacrifice of their rights, honor, and independence, submit to the late edicts 
of Great Britain and France. 2d. That it was expedient to prohibit the 
admission of either the ships or merchandise of those belligerents into the 
ports of the United States. 3d. That the country Ought to be immediately 
placed in a state of defence. 

After a protracted debate, the first two resolutions were passed, by 
three fourths of the votes, and the last unanimously. 

A similar debate on the same subject, in the senate, was introduced by 
a motion to repeal the embargo law. The motion was supported by its 
mover, Mr. Hillhouse, of Connecticut, and by Messrs. Pickering and 
Lloyd, of Massachusetts, and White, of Delaware. It was opposed by 
Messrs. Pope, of Kentucky, Smith, of Maryland, Crawford, of Georgia, 
and Moore and Giles, of Virginia. The question on the resolution was 
taken on the 2d of December, when it appeared that there were but six 
votes in its favor, to twenty-five against it. 

In pursuance of the third resolution adopted by the house, the sum of 
four hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars was appropriated to forti- 
fications, principally at New York ; four frigates were ordered to be 
equipped in addition to the naval force already in service ; three thousand 
six hundred seamen to be enlisted, in addition to those already in service, 
and an addition was made to the marine corps. 

While the report which earnestly urged the impoliey of repealing 
the embargo act was adopted by so large a majority, the greater part even 
of the friends of the administration had no expectation that it would be 



160 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

continued many months longer. Some thought it ought to be repealed in 
the spring, but none were desirous of extending it further than the 1st of 
September., Looking forward to the change of policy, various expedients 
connected with the repeal were proposed, but neither of these propositions 
according with the views of a large majority, they were all postponed on 
the 10th of February, by 65 votes to 55.* 

In the meanwhile the embargo was pressing with increasing severity on 
every class of the community, whether producers or consumers, and this 
pressure drove the people of New England, where the embargo was most 
felt, to a point of disaffection which had never before been witnessed in 
the United States. Many, therefore, entertained strong hopes that some 
course would be taken during the present session, by which the industry 
and enterprise of the country might be again put into activity, its vessels 
be once more suffered to venture on the ocean, and perhaps be permitted 
to arm in their own defence, if not to make reprisals. Among the many 
objections to the embargo, there was one which operated Strongly on its 
friends, and that was the frequency with which it was violated. There 
were also many cases in which the law was clandestinely evaded. The 
majority of Congress who were willing to try it longer, rather than resort 
to war, passed a law during this session, which armed the executive with 
new powers for enforcing it. 

The administration and the majority who supported it were, before Con- 
gress rose, turned from the purpose of trying tht, embargo a few months 
longer, from fear of the growing disaffection of the New England states. 

It has appeared by subsequent disclosures, that in the month of Febru- 
ary, Mr. John Quincy Adams, who had supported the administration in the 
embargo and other measures of policy, ever since the affair of the Ches- 
apeake, and who, finding his course was not approved by the legislature 
of Massachusetts, had resigned his seat in the senate of the United States, 
made to the president a communication to the following effect, namely : 
that from information received by him, and which might be relied on, it 
was the determination of the ruling party in Massachusetts, and even 
New England (federalists), if the embargo was persisted in, no longer to 
submit to it, but to separate themselves from the Union ; at least until the 
existing obstacles to commerce were removed ; that the plan was already 
digested, and that such was the pressure of the embargo on the commu- 
nity, that they would be supported by the people. 

The danger thus threatening the Union was deemed paramount to all 
other considerations, and the president, with his cabinet, concluded that it 
would be better, to modify their interdiction of commerce in such a way 
that, while employment was afforded to American vessels, Great Britain 
and France should still feel the loss of American commerce. Congress 
accordingly passed a law for repealing the embargo after the 15th of March, 

* Tucker. 



ADMIXISTRATION OF JEFFERSOX. 161 

as to all nations except France and Great Britain, and interdicting with 
them all commercial intercourse whatever, whether by exporting or im- 
porting, either directly or circuitously. This measure has always since 
gone under the name of the non-intercourse law. It passed the house of 
representatives on the 27th of February, by 81 votes to 40, and became a 
law on the 1st of March, 1809. The repeal of the embargo took effect on 
the 15th of the same month. 

It is not known whether the information thus communicated by Mr. 
Adams was entirely accurate,* but that the growing discontents of the 
country made some change expedient, would seem to be very reasonable. 
In most of the state legislatures of New England there Avas a systematic 
purpose to defeat the measures of the general government, especially in 

* Tlie following statement was authorized by Mr. Adams, and published in the National 
Intelligencer of October 21, 1828, and republished in Niles's Register, vol. xxxv., p. 138 : — 

" At the session of Congress w^hich commenced in November, 1808, Mr. Adams was a pri- 
vate citizen, residing at Boston. The embargo was still in force, operating with extreme 
pressure upon the interests of the people, and was viewed as a most effective instrument by 
the party prevailing in the state against the administration of Mr. Jefferson. The people 
were constantly instigated to forcible resistance against it, and juries after juries acquitted the 
violators of it, upon the ground that it was unconstitutional, assumed in the face of a solemn 
decision of the district court of the United States. A separation of the Union was openly 
stimulated in the public prints, and a convention of delegates of the New England states, to 
meet at New Haven, was intended and proposed. 

" Mr. Giles, and several other members of Congress, during this session, wrote to Mr. Ad- 
ams confidential letters, informing him of the various measures proposed as reinforcements or 
substitutes for the embargo, and .soliciting his opinions upon the subject. He answered these 
letters with frankness, and in confidence. He earnestly recommended the substitution of the 
non-intercourse for the embargo ; and, in giving his reasons for this preference, was necessa- 
rily led to enlarge upon the views and purposes of certain leaders of the party which had the 
management of the state legislature in their hands. He urged that a continuance of the em- 
bargo much longer would certainly be met by forcible resistance, supported by the legislature, 
and probably by the judiciary of the state. That to quell that resistance, if force should be 
resorted to by the government, it would produce a civil war ; and that in that event, he had 
no doubt the leaders of the party would secure the cooperation with them of Great Britain. 
That their object was, and had been for several years, a dissolution of the Union, and the es- 
tablishment of a separate confederation, he knew from unequivocal evidence, although not 
proveable in a court of law ; and that, in the case of a civil war, the aid of Great Britain to ef- 
fect that purpose would be as surely resorted to, as it would be indispensably necessary to the 
design. That these letters to Mr. Giles were by him communicated to Mr. Jefferson, Mr. Ad- 
ams believes. He believes, likewise, that other letters from him to other members of Con- 
gress, written during the same session and upon the same subject, were also communicated to 
him. In one of the letters to Mr. Giles he repeated an a.s.surance which he had verbally given 
him during the preceding session of Congrcs.s, that he had for his support of Mr. Jefferson's ad- 
ministration no personal or interested motive, and no favor to ask of him whatever." 

On being called upon in November, 1828, by Hon. Harrison Gray Otis, William Prescott, 
William Sullivan, and other leading federalists of Massachusetts, to furnish his proofs relative 
to the charges made by him of a design by the leaders of the federal party in Massachusetts to 
effect a dissolution of the Union in 1808, Mr. Adams declined to do so at that time, but intima- 
ted that at some future day a sense of duty might require him to disclose the evidence which 
be possessed on the subject. The correspondence was published in Niles's Register, vol. xxxv. 
In their letter to Mr. Adams, Messrs. Otis and others declare, that "they have never known 
nor suspected the party which prevailed in Massachusetts in 1808, or any other party in this 
state, ever entertained the design to produce a dissolution of the Union, or the establishment 
of a separate confederation." 

II 



162 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 

preventing the execution of the law last enacted for enforcing the embar- 
go. In Connecticut a law was passed to prevent those searches in pri- 
vate houses, which the act of Congress authorized under particular cir- 
cumstances.* 

Tlie administration of Mr. Jefferson terminated on the 3d of March, 
1809. He received addresses from the legislatures of the states of Ver- 
mont, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Georgia, and from the 
senate of New York, and the house of delegates of Virginia, to serve a 
third term, but he chose to decline being again a candidate, offering as a 
reason a desire to conform to the precedent made by General Washing- 
ton. In his correspondence with his friends at the time, he expressed 
his gratification at being enabled to retire to private life. After waiting 
to witness the inauguration of his successor, he left the seat of govern- 
ment for his favorite seat of Monticello. 

At the period when Mr. Jefferson resigTied the reins of government into 
the hands of his chosen friend, Mr. Madison, the country was involved in 
gloom and despondency. A report of a committee of the legislature of 
Massachusetts, in January, 1809, drew the following picture of the state 
of the country at that time : — 

" Our agriculture is discouraged. The fisheries abandoned. Naviga- 
tion forbidden. Our commerce at home restrained, if not annihilated. 
Our commerce abroad cut off. Our navy sold, dismantled, or degraded to 
the service of cutters or gunboats.* The revenue extinguished. The 
course of justice interrupted. And the nation weakened by internal ani- 
mosities and divisions, at the moment when it is unnecessarily and im- 
providently exposed to war with Great Britain, France, and Spain." 

Such were the views of the opponents of Mr. Jefferson's administra- 
tion, when it was about to close. The principal benefits accomplished by 
him and his cabinet, during the eight years while the power of the gov- 
ernment was in their hands, as claimed by the friends of Mr. Jefferson, 
were, first, the acquisition of Louisiana, by which more than a million of 
square miles were added to the national domain, and the free navigation 
of the Mississippi secured ; which also settled a troublesome and threat- 
ening controversy with Spain, and removed the powerful and dangerous 
neighborhood of France ; second, the surveys of the coast and the exploring 
expedition of Lewis and Clarke, which added greatly to the geographical 
knowledge of the country ; third, the administration had done much to 
advance the Indians in the arts of civilized life, and had obtained their 
voluntary relinquishment of their title to ninety-six millions of acres ; it 
had also the merit of compelling the Barbary powers to respect the flag 
.of the United States. 

It is also claimed for Mr. Jefferson, by his friends, as stated by his 
biographer, Professor Tucker, that he gave a practical illustration of the 

* Tucker. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFERSON. 1G3 

great political maxims from which our civil institutions take their shape 
and derive their force ; that government was instituted for the benefit of 
the governed, and, consequently, that its power is not a property in those 
who administer it, but a trust for the public good ; that as power is grate- 
ful in itself, and its exercise always more or less conflicts with the inter- 
ests or wishes of others, it should be as sparingly delegated and as for- 
bearingly exerted as is consistent with the great purposes of peace and 
security. 

In conformity with these maxims (the same writer remarks), Mr. Jef- 
ferson made no attempt, and exhibited no desire to enlarge the powers of 
the executive, and never exercised them for the benefit of hin^self or of 
his family. 

The biographer of Mr. Jefferson has not thought proper to define, iu 
the partialities of his friendship, the improvements, if any, which that 
president introduced, in administering the government, on the system and 
views of General Washington, nor has he stated in what respects the ad- 
ministration of Washington, and his constructions of the constitution of 
which he was one of the framers, was not a safe model for his successors. 
A recent impartial Avriter, in drawing a parallel between Washington and 
Jefferson, remarks as follows. It is from a sketch of the life of Thomas 
Jefferson, published in Philadelphia, by J. G. Russell, 1844 : — • 

" The superiority of Washington's statesmanship seems to be shown in 
the peculiar adaptation of his policy to the special object of the federal 
constitution, which was the vigor and efficiency of the government, in 
contradistinction to the laxity of principle and looseness of the parts in 
the old confederacy. Let us suppose that Mr. Jefferson had been cho- 
sen to carry into practice the first experiment of the government, instead 
of Washington, and that he had applied his system of state-rights ^nd. pop- 
ular interference to the new machine which the federal convention had 
just placed in the hands of the executive. Is it not self-evident that, for 
want of vigor and energy, the constitution would have crumbled to pieces 
in his hands, and left him in possession only of the fragments of the old 
confederacy ? For that is certainly the true system of the government 
which fulfils its great ends ; and that, of course, must be the spurious doc- 
trine which baffies and defeats the object had in view by those who framed 
it. The difference in the crisis, and the remote stages of the two admin- 
istrations can not affect this principle. A government of laws must have 
the principle of energy and coercion ; and it was the concentration of this 
energy in a federal government which the convention gave, and which, to 
cany out into perfection, induced the Washington policy. It does ap- 
pear, therefore, that Mr. Jefferson's was anomalous and not congenial to 
the constitution, but a policy formed in accordance with the constant and 
living current of popular opinion ; a policy for the people, not for the con- 
stitution ; a policy framed to gain popularity, not to cement, fulfil, or con- 



164 ADMINISTRATION OF JEFFEftSON. 

summate tlie fabric and purposes of the government. It appears, therefore, 
to be rather the policy of tlie politician than the policy of the statesman, the 
legislator, the lawgiver, or the patriot, who looks beyond the bounds of pres- 
ent praise to the final consequences of civilization and liberty. Yet even this 
anomalous policy of Mr. Jefferson, so far from being incompatible with hu- 
man happiness and permanent freedom, is admirably calculated to secure 
those objects, provided the people are sufficiently virtuous to be governed by 
opinion instead of law. It implies, in the people, the highest perfection 
of virtue and intelligence, and, leaving nothing to coercion, places the 
safety of society at the mercy of their discretion, wisdom, prudence, and 
virtue. It implies that power will be so honest as to commit no usurpa- 
tion, and that the people will be so virtuous as to abstain from all violence, 
licentiousness, and disorder ! but this is supposing the very effect that 
government is intended to secure. We have many declarations under Mr. 
Jefferson's pen, which show that he had not considered the scientific prin- 
ciples of his system so profoundly as he had studied its impression on the 
minds of the people ; and seeing it well received by them, he determined 
to adhere to it. So that in efiect there was this difference in Washington 
and Jefferson, as statesmen — that the former rescued the republic from the 
chaos of the old confederation to the coercive government of the federal 
constitution, and the latter reconducted us to the chaos of the confederacy 
through the currents of popular opinion, ideas of unbounded liberty, im- 
plicit confidence in the virtues of the people, and an unlimited faith in 
their intelligence, and capacity for self-government." 




3iid^iv"V.Balcli-fToiii a.Pammigl'T Stuart - 



'(Z^^t>^-i ^^^<i^^^^^":?^^^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



JAMES MADISON. 



James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, was bom in 
Orange county, Virginia, on the 16th of March, 1751. His father was 
James Madison, the family being of Welsh descent, and among the early 
emigrants to Virginia. The subject of the present sketch studied the 
English, Latin, Greek, French, and Italian languages, and was fitted for 
college under the tuition of Mr. Robertson, a native of Scotland, and the 
Rev. Mr. Martin, a Jerseyman. He graduated at Princeton, New Jersey, 
in 1771 ; and afterward remained a year at college, pursuing his studies 
under the superintendence of Doctor Witherspoon, president of the insti- 
tution. His constitution was impaired by close application to his studies, 
and his health was, for many years, feeble. Returning to Virginia, he com- 
menced the practice of the law, but the scenes of the revolution left but 
little opportunity for the quiet pursuits of private life, and his talents being 
soon appreciated by his neighbors, he was called into the public service 
at an early age. In 1776 he was elected a member of the general assem- 
bly of Virginia, and in 1778 he was appointed one of the executive coun- 
cillors. In the winter of 1779-'80 he was chosen a delegate to the con- 
tinental Congress, of which body he continued an active and prominent 
member till 1784. In January, 1786, the legislature of Virginia appointed 
Mr. Madison one of their delegates to a convention of commissioners, or 
delegates, from the several states, to meet at Annapolis, Maryland, the en- 
suing September, to devise a uniform system of commercial regulations 
which should be binding on the whole confederacy, when ratified by all the 
states. Only five states were represented in this convention, but the mem- 
bers present took a step which led to important results. They recom- 
mended a convention of delegates from all the states, to be held at Phila- 
delphia, in May, 1787, to take into consideration the situation of the 
United States, to devise such furthejr provisions as should appear to them 



166 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MADISON. 

necessary to render the constitution of the federal government adequate to 
the exigencies of the Union. Of that convention, which framed the con- 
stitution of the United States, Mr. Madison was one of the most distin- 
guished members. He took a leading part in the debates on the various 
plans of a constitution submitted to the convention, and to his efforts in 
maturing the constitution as finally adopted, the country is greatly indebt- 
ed. He took notes of the proceedings and debates of the convention, 
which, since his death, have been published, forming a valuable text-book 
for American statesmen. 

In the convention, Mr. Madison generally coincided with General 
Washington and other members in their views in favor of a strong national 
government. A paper in the handwriting of General Washington, and 
found among the documents left by him, contains a summary of Mr. Mad- 
ison's opinions on the subject of a form of constitution to be proposed. It 
is the substance of a letter received by Washington from Mr. Madison, a 
short time previous to the assembling of the convention at Philadelphia, 
and has been published in the North American Review, volume xxxv., as 
follows : — 

" Mr. Madison thinks an individual independence of the states utterly 
irreconcilable with their aggregate sovereignty, and that a consolidation of 
the whole into one simple republic would be as inexpedient as it is unat- 
tainable. He therefore proposes a middle ground, which may at once 
support a due supremacy of the national authority, and not exclude the 
local authorities whenever they can be subordinately useful. 

" As the groundwork, he proposes that a change be made in the princi- 
ple of representation, and thinks there would be no great difficulty in 
effecting it. 

" Next, that, in addition to the present federal powers, the national gov- 
ernment should be armed with positive and complete authority in all cases 
which require uniformity ; such as regulation of trade, including the right 
of taxing both exports and imports, the fixing the terms and forms of nat- 
uralization, &c. 

" Over and above this positive power, a negative in all cases Avhatever 
on the legislative acts of the states, as heretofore exercised by the kingly 
prerogative, appears to him absolutely necessary, and to be the least pos- 
sible encroachment on the state jurisdictions. Without this defensive 
power he conceives that every positive law which can be given oh paper, 
will be evaded. 

" This control over the laws would prevent the internal vicissitudes of 
state policy, and the aggressions of interested majorities. 

" The national supremacy ought also to be extended, he thinks, to the 
judiciary departments ; the oaihs of the judges should at least include a 
fidelity to the general as well as local constitution ; and that an appeal 
should be to some national tribunals m all cases to which foreigners or in- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MADISON. 167 

habitants of other states may be parties. The admiralty jurisdictions to 
fall entirely within the purview of the national government. 

" The national supremacy in the executive departments is liable to some 
difficulty, unless the officers administering them could be made appointa- 
ble by the supreme government. The militia ought entirely to be placed, 
in some form or other, under the authority which is intrusted with the 
general protection and defence. 

" A government composed of such extensive powers should be well or- 
ganized and balanced. 

" The legislative department might be divided into two branches, one 
of them chosen every — years, by the people at large, or by the legisla- 
tures ; the other to consist of fewer members, to hold their places for a 
longer term, and to go out in such rotation as always to leave in office a 
large majority of old members. 

" Perhaps the negative on the laws might be most conveniently exer- 
cised by this branch. 

" As a further check, a council of revision, including the great ministe- 
rial officers, might be svjperadded. 

" A national executive must also be provided. He has scarcely ven- 
tured as yet to form his own opinion, either of the manner in which it 
ought to be constituted, or of the authorities with which it ought to be 
clothed. 

" An article should be inserted, expressly guarantying the tranquillity 
of the states against internal as well as external dangers. 
, " In like manner, the right of coercion should be expressly declared. 
With the resources of commerce in hand, the national administration 
might always find means of exerting it either by sea or land ; but the dif- 
ficulty and awkwardness of operating by force on the collective will of a 
state, render it particularly desirable that the necessity of it might be pre- 
cluded. Perhaps the negative on the laws might create such a mutual 
dependence between the general and particular authorities as to answer ; 
or perhaps some defined objects of taxation might be submitted along with 
commerce, to the general authority. 

" To give a new system its proper validity and energy, a ratification 
must be obtained from the people, and not merely from the ordinary au- 
thority of the legislature. This will be the more essential, as inroads on 
the existing constitutions of the states will be unavoidable." 

The foregoing views of Mr. Madison, expressed by him before the con- 
stitution was formed, are highly interesting, as evincing a remarkable de- 
gree of foresight and political wisdom, and forming the basis of the prin- 
cipal features of the constitution as finally adopted by the convention. 

The constitution having passed the ordeal of the national convention, in 
September, 1787, was next, by the recommendation of that body, submit- 
ted to conventions elected by the people of the several states, for their 



168 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MADISOM. 

consideration. Mr. Madison v/as elected a member of the convention of 
Virginia, chosen for that purpose, and here his best efforts Avere again 
called into requisition, to secure the sanction of his native state to a meas- 
ure which he deemed of the most vital importance to the interests of the 
whole Union. In this state convention of A'^irginia were assembled some 
of the most able and talented of her sons, including many of the patriots 
of the revolution, and others renowned for wisdom and eloquence ; but 
with widely discordant views on the suljject of a form of national govern- 
ment. Among those who acted with Mr. Madison in advocating the 
adoption of the constitution, were John Marshall, Edmund Pendleton, 
George Wythe, and Edmund Randolph ; while Patrick Plenry, James 
Monroe, William Grayson, and George Mason, were among the oppo- 
nents. The question was finally carried in favor of adoption by 89 votes 
to 79. 

Notwithstanding the triumph of the federalists, as the friends of the con- 
stitution were then called, in the convention of Virginia, the anti-federal- 
ists held the majority in the legislature. An attempt to elect Mr. Mad- 
ison to the senate of the United States was, therefore, unsuccessful, 
Messrs. Grayson and R. H. Lee being preferred. Mr. Madison was, how- 
ever, elected by the people of one of the congressional districts, a member 
of the house of representatives, and took his seat in the new Congress, at 
New York, in April, 1789. In that body he bore an active and leading part 
in the adoption of measures for the organization of the government. He 
continued a distinguished member of Congress during the eight years of 
General Washington's administration, which terminated in March, 1797. 
He opposed the funding system, the national bank, and other measures of 
the administration which originated with Hamilton, secretary of the treas- 
urj'' ; acting generally with the anti-federalists, who sustained the views of 
Mr. Jefferson, then secretary of state ; notwithstanding Madison had been 
one of the most distinguished champions of the constitution previous to its 
adoption, and was associated with Hamilton and Jay in the production of 
the celebrated essays called " The Federalist," which had an important in- 
fluence with the people, in favor of the constitution. 

In 1794, being then in his forty-third year, Mr. Madison married I\Irs. 
Dolly Paine Todd, of Philadelphia, the widow of a lawyer of Pennsylva- 
nia, who died in less than three years after her first marriage. This 
lady's maiden name was Paine ; and her father, who belonged to the soci- 
ety of Friends, had removed from Virginia to Philadelphia. She was 
about twenty years younger than Mr. Madison, and still sur\'ives. She 
was always admired for her agreeable manners, her fine person, and tal- 
ents in conversation. With an amiable disposition, a mild and dignified 
deportment, few American ladies have been more distinguished than Mrs. 
Madison, in the various and liigh stations she has been called to occupy 
and adorn through life. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MADISON. 169 

In January, 1794, Mr. Madison introduced into tlie house of representa- 
tives a series of resolutions on the subject of the commerce of the United 
States with foreign nations. They Avere based on a previous report made 
to Congress by Mr. .Tefl'erson, secretary of state, on the subject of foreign 
relations, and were probably prepared with the concurrence of Mr. Jeffer- 
son, as a manuscript copy was found among his papers. They were re- 
taliatory in their character toward Great Britain, and considered favorable 
to the interests of France. They gave rise to a warm debate, parties be- 
ing nearly balanced in the house, but the subject was finally postponed, 
without definite action. 

Mr. Madison continued to act with the democratic, or republican party, 
for the remainder of his political career, co-operating with Mr. Jefferson 
in his views of national policy, and between these two gentlemen there 
existed through their lives the warmest personal friendship. In r797, 
Mr. Madison retired from Congress, and in order to oppose the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Adams in a new form, he accepted a seat in the Virginia 
legislature, in 1798, where he made a report on the subject of the alien 
and sedition laws which had been passed by the federal party in Con- 
gress, concluding with a series of resolutions against those laws ; which 
resolutions have since formed a text for the doctrine of state-rights, as held 
by the democratic party of Virginia and some other states. 

On the accession of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency, in 1801, he ap- 
pointed oNIr. Madison secretary of state, which office he held during the 
eight years of Mr. Jefferson's administration ; and in 1809, having received 
the nomination and support of the democratic party, he succeeded his 
friend and coadjutor, as president of the United States. During his ad- 
ministration, in 1812, war was declared by Congress against Great Brit- 
ain, to which measure he reluctantly consented, and the same year he was 
re-elected to the presidency. In his selection of commissioners to nego- 
tiate a treaty of peace, Mr. Madison showed his anxiety for a termination 
of the war, by the appointment of able men, sincerely desirous of peace, 
which was concluded at Ghent, in December, 1814. 

The anxious and exciting scenes of war were not congenial to a per- 
son of the peaceful disposition of Mr. Madison, yet the duties of his high 
office were performed with firmness and ability. Among the events of 
the war which were calculated to disturb his equanimity, was the capture 
of the city of Washington, and the destruction of the public buildings, by 
the British, in 1814. The president and some other principal officers of 
the government narrowly escaped from being made prisoners by the Brit- 
ish troops ; they, however, were saved by a rapid flight. 

Aftej: the return of peace, the remainder of Mr. Madison's administra- 
tion was prosperous and tranquil. The interests of agriculture and com- 
merce revived among the people, and the national revenue was rapidly 
replenished from the fruits of returning prosperity. The manufacturing 



170 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MADISON. 

interests, however, languished for want of adequate protection. The pres- 
ident was favorable to their encouragement. He changed his views on 
the subject of a national bank, and signed the bill for incorporating the 
bank of the United States, in 1816. He had, in 1791, opposed the bank 
then incorporated, as unconstitutional, and in 1815 he had returned to 
Congress a bill incorporating a bank, as he disapproved of some of its 
provisions ; but in the following year he waived his objections, and ap- 
proved of an act of incorporation, somewhat modified. 

On the 3d of March, 1817, Mr. Madison's administration was brought to 
a close, and he retired from public life, being then sixty-six years of age, to 
his seat at Montpelief, in Orange county, Virginiaj where he passed the 
remainder of his days. In 1829 he was chosen a member of the state con- 
vention to revise the constitution of Virginia, and for several years he acted 
us visiter and rector of the University of "Virginia. He was also chosen 
president of an agricultural society in the county where he resided, and 
before this society he delivered an address, admirable for its classical 
beauty and practical knowledge. 

Having arrived at a good old age, and numbered eighty-five years, the 
mortal career of Mr. Jvladison was closed on the 28th of June, 183G. Con- 
gress and other public bodies adopted testimonials of respect for his memory. 
He left no children. 

In his personal appearance, Mr. Madison was of small stature, and 
rather protuberant in front. He had a calm expression, penetrating blue 
eyes, and was slow and grave in his speech. At the close of his 
presidency he seemed to be care-worn, with an appearance of more 
advanced age than was the fact. He was bald on the top of his head, 
wore his hair powdered, and generally dressed in black. His manner 
was modest and retiring, but in conversation he was pleasing and instruc- 
tive, having a mind well stored with the treasures of learning, and being 
particularly familiar with the political world. On his accession to the presi- 
dency he restored the custom of levees at the presidential mansion, which 
had been abolished by Mr. Jefi'erson. It was on the occasion of these 
levees, that his accomplished lady, by her polite and attractive attentions 
and manners, shone with peculiar lustre. Mr. Madison was fond of soci- 
ety, although he had travelled but little ; never having visited foreign 
countries, or seen much of the people and country over which he presided. 

When a member of deliberative bodies, Mr. Madison was an able de- 
bater, having acquired self-confidence by slow degrees. As a writer, he 
has few equals among American statesmen, and the style of his public 
documents and his correspondence has always been much admired. He 
was at the time of his death, the last surviving signer of the constitution, 
and the part he bore in framing that instrument, his subsequent advo- 
cacy of it, by his writings, with his adherence to its provisions, obtained 
for him the title of " Father of the Constitution." 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 



On the fourth of March, 1809, James Madison was inaugurated as 
president of the United States. The oath of office was administered to 
him by Chief- Justice Marshall, in the capitol, at Washington in the pres- 
ence of the ex-president, Mr. Jefferson, who sat at his right hand, the 
members of the late cabinet, many members of Congress, foreign minis- 
ters, and a large concourse of citizens. He was dressed in a plain suit 
of black, and delivered his inaugural address in a manner at once modest 
and dignified. The tone and sentiment of the address elicited general 
approbation, and hopes were entertained by the nation, that the gloomy 
aspect of affairs might be changed by the measures of the new adminis- 
tration with regard to our foreign relations. These anticipations of the 
people were doomed to disappointment. 

Mr. Madison selected for his cabinet, Robert Smith, of Maryland, as 
secretary of state, William Eustis, of Massachusetts, secretary of war, 
Paul Hamilton, of South Carolina, secretaiy of the navy ; Mr. Gallatin was 
continued as secretary of the treasury, as was Cesar A. Rodney, of Dela- 
ware, attorney-general. 

The eleventh Congress met on the 22d of May, 1809, agreeably to a 
law passed by the previous Congress, in consequence of the critical state 
of the nation, and the apprehension of a war with Great Britain or France. 
The democratic ascendency in the house of representatives having been 
sustained at the recent elections, Joseph B. Varnum was re-elected 
speaker. 

At this session, the non-intercourse act with Great Britain and France, 
which had been substituted for the embargo, by the last Congress, was 
continued, with some modifications. No very material alterations were 
made in the law, nor was any other very important measure adopted at this 
extra session, which lasted only about five weeks, and was terminated on 
the 28th of June. 

Mr. Erskine, the British minister at Washington, considering the non- 
intercourse law as placing Great Britain and France on an equality, made 
a communication to the government of the United States, in April, inform- 
ing it that he was authorized, by despatches received from his govern- 



172 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

ment, to make reparation for the Chesapeake affair ; also that an envoy 
extraordinary would soon be sent to the United States to conclude a 
treaty on all questions between the two countries, and that the orders 
in council would be repealed as to the United States, on the president's 
renewing the intercourse between America and Great Britain. The pres- 
ident issued a proclamation to that effect, on the 19th of April, stating 
the withdrawal of the British orders on the 10th of June, when the 
commerce between the two countries would be renewed. But the British 
government refused to sanction the overture and arrangement made by 
their minister, who, they declared, had exceeded the authority of his in- 
structions ; and he admitted that he had done so, in a letter to his govern- 
ment, in which he says, that " nothing Avould have induced me to deviate, 
in any degree, from the orders I had received, but a thorough conviction 
that by so doing I should accomplish the object which his majesty had in 
view ; when by too strictly adhering to the letter of my instructions, I 
might lose the opportunity of promoting essentially his majesty's interests 
and wishes." 

The president thereupon issued a second proclamation, reciting the 
facts, and declaring the act of non-intercourse to be revived and in 
full effect. Mr. Erskine was soon after recalled, and another envoy ap- 
pointed in his stead. This transaction caused great irritation in the pub- 
lic mind and hostility toward England, among the American people, and 
a declaration of war at this time with England, would probably have been 
popular. 

Mr. Jackson, the British envoy who succeeded Mr. Erskine, arrived at 
Washington at the close of the year 1809. He was directed to state the 
reasons for a refusal by the British government to confirm the arrange- 
ment made Mr. Erskine, and was authorized to enter into negotiations for 
a commercial treaty. But far from displaying the mild and conciliatory 
spirit of his predecessor, he attempted to vindicate the honor of his own 
government by dealing in censures and criminations upon the government 
of the United States, in a style unusual in diplomatic correspondence. He 
insinuated that the president and secretary of state must have known that 
Mr. Erskine had deviated from his instructions, and transcended his pow- 
ers ; and after the secretary of state denied the charge, he repeated the in- 
sinuation, which was deemed highly improper and insulting to our govern- 
ment. The correspondence between Mr. Jackson and the secretary of state 
was continued in the same angry tone for several weeks, each party con- 
sidering himself harshly treated, and the president finally directed the sec- 
retary of state to receive no further communication from the British envoy 
Mr. Jackson therefore left Washington, immediately on receiving notice to 
that effect, and took up his residence in New York. At the request of 
the president, communicated through the American minister in London, 
Mr. Jackson was recalled, but without being censured, or the offer of any 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 173 

apology for his conduct. Nor did the British ministry think proper to 
send another envoy to the United States until some months had elapsed 
after the return of Mr. Jackson to Ejagland. 

Mr. Pinkney, the American minister to Great Britain, was continued at 
that court, but his efforts at negotiating proved unavailing, and early in 
1811 he was instructed to return home. The British government, the 
same year appointed Mr. Foster minister to the United States, who 
effected a settlement of the affair of the Chesapeake frigate in Novem- 
ber, 1811, and remained at Washington until the declaration of war against 
Great Britain, in 1812. 

Congress again assembled on the 27th of November, 1809,' and con- 
tinued in session until the 1st of May, 1810 — but during this period of 
more than five months, few acts of general importance were passed ; 
among them were several respecting the public lands ; also laws re- 
specting the postoffice establishment and postroads, the territories, light- 
houses, compensation to ministers to foreign countries, consuls, &c. ; 
providing for taking the census in 1810; for payment of a portion of 
the public debt, by creating a new loan, &c. The non-intercourse 
with Great Britain and France was continued by a new act, and a joint 
resolution was adopted in relation to the controversy between the exec- 
utive and Francis .Tames Jackson, the British envoy to the United States ; 
the language of whose official letters to Mr. Smith, the secretary of 
state, was declared to be highly indecorous and insolent, the conduct 
of the executive toward him approved, and Congress solemnly pledged to 
stand by the executive government, in its refusal to receive any further 
communication from said Jackson, and to call into action the whole force 
of the nation, if it should become necessary, to repel such insults, and to 
assert and maintain the rights, the honor, and interests of the United 
States. 

In the early part of the year 1810, the French decree of RamlouiUet 
was made known, and alleged by the emperor Napoleon to have been is- 
sued in retaliation of the non-intercourse act of the United States. All 
American vessels which, since the 20th of March, 1808, had entered 
any French port, or the ports of any French colony, or of any coun- 
try occupied by the French, or which should thereafter enter, were de- 
clared forfeit, and were to be sold for the benefit of the national treasury 
of France. In addition to the numerous condemnations under this decree, 
the French privateers committed various depredations on American com- 
merce. 

By the new non-intercourse act already referred to, which was passed 
by Congress in May, 1810, it was provided, that if either Great Britain or 
France would repeal her obnoxious orders or decrees, and the other na« 
tion did not, within three months thereafter, repeal hers, that then inter- 
course should be renewed with the nation repealing her acts, while tow- 



174 ADMIN'ISTRATION OF MADISON. 

ard the other belligerent, the provisions of the non-intercourse act should 
operate and be in force. 

The French government were informed of the passage of this act, by- 
General Armstrong, United States minister at Paris ; and the French min- 
ister for foreign affairs, the duke of Cadore, immediately addressed a note 
to General Armstrong, dated August, 1810, stating that "the Berlin and 
Milan decrees, issued by the emperor, were revoked, and would cease to 
have effect after the first of November following." He added that " his 
government had adopted this measure because the Congress of the United 
States had retraced its steps, and had engaged to oppose the belligerent 
(Great Btitain) which refused to acknowledge the rights of neutrals. It 
being understood (or on condition) that the English shall revoke their or- 
dersl in council, and renounce the new principles of blockade which they 
have wished to establish ; or that the United States shall cause their 
rights to be respected by the English." 

Although the language of the note of the duke of Cadore was some- 
what equivocal and indefinite, it was received by our government in good 
faith, and the president issued his proclamation on the first of November, 
1810, declaring that the French decrees were in fact revoked, and that 
the non-intercourse law would be revived and in force as to Great Britain, 
unless her orders in council should be revoked in three months after that 
date. Subsequent events served to prove that the emperor of France did 
not intend to revoke his decrees, in fact, unless Great Britain should also 
v/ithdraw her orders affecting neutral commerce, or the United States 
should declare war against that nation. Indeed, after the first of No- 
vember, American vessels and their cargoes were seized and held for 
sequestration; and several months later, in March, 1811, the French 
emperor declared, that " the decrees of Berlin and Milan were the 
fundamental laws of his empire." A new envoy from France, who ar- 
rived in the United States about this time, gave official notice to the 
administration that no remuneration would be made for the property 
sequestered.* 

The president, in the meantime, urged on the British government a revo- 
cation of the orders in council, assuming that the French decrees were 
repealed. But the British government resisted the demand, on the ground 
that no sufficient evidence Avas furnished that the Berlin and Milan de- 
crees had actually been repealed, and they insisted that the president's 
proclamation, and the subsequent law of Congress, passed in March, 1811, 
interdicting all commercial intercouse with England, were partial and un- 
just. Thus the unfriendly feelings between the United States and Great 
Britain were continued and increased. The British government was tena- 
cious of the policy it had adopted relating to neutrals ; and pleaded that 
its interests rendered it peculiarly necessary to be pursued at that time, 

* Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 175 

American vessels and their cargoes, therefore, continued to be seized by 
British cruisers, and condemned in their admiralty courts. 

During the third session of the 11th Congress, from the 3d of Decem- 
ber, 1810, to the 3d of March, 181 1, the subject of our foreign relations 
attracted much attention. The president's course toward France, and his 
proclamation, were approved by Congress, and the non-intercourse act 
was revived against Great Britain. Certain parts of the former act had 
been repealed, so as to induce mercantile enterprise with Great Britain 
and dependencies, but now the goods imported from British dominions 
were made liable to seizure ; and bonds were required of the importers, 
to await a legal decision. The prices of British goods in the United 
States were then so high as to induce the merchants to take the risk of 
bonding the goods for the full amount of their invoice value. 

At the same session of CoHgress, the people of Louisiana were author- 
ized to form a constitution and state government, preparatory to being ad- 
mitted into the Uijion. 

The charter of the bank of the United States, which institution was in- 
corporated in 1791, expired, by limitation, on the 4th of March, 1811, and 
a bill having been introduced into Congress to renew the charter, was in- 
definitely postponed, in the house of representatives, on the 24th of Janu- 
ary, 1811, by a vote of 65 to 64. In the senate, a similar bill was rejected 
b}' the casting vote of the vice-president, George Clinton, on the 5th of 
February, 1811 — the senate being equally divided on the question, 17 to 
17. The provisions of the bill Avere said to have been, in a great meas- 
ure, conformable to the views of the secretary of the treasury, Mr. Gal- 
latin. 

Mr. Madison and his cabinet made further efforts to conciliate the favor, 
or to prevent the hostile measures, of the emperor of France. In Febru- 
ary, 1811, Joel Barlow was appointed minister to France, with instruc- 
tions and full powers to negotiate a treaty of commerce with that govern- 
ment. Mr. Barlow was received with favor by the ministers of Napole- 
on, and they intimated a desire to form a treaty with the United States. 
But the policy of the emperor was to exclude British manufactures from 
the continent of Europe ; in accomplishing which, he believed, the com- 
merce of the United States must be restricted, or be under his control. 
Nothing, therefore, was effected by Mr. Barlow, with regard to a settle- 
ment of our difficulties with France. 

The course of the administration with regard to the belligerent powers, 
England and France, was much censured by the opposition party. A dis- 
tinguished senator of that party, from Connecticut, remarked, that " the 
path for the administration to pursue was as plain as a turnpike — the two 
belligerent nations should have been treated with strict impartiality ; an em- 
bargo laid for a short and limited period ; permission to merchants to arm 
their vessels, and such measures of defence, both on the land and on the 



176 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON* 

ocean, as the state of the country afforded, and as would, in a great measure, 
prove efficient for the purposes of commercial protection ; and the mani- 
festation of a proper spirit to maintain the rights of the nation." The sys- 
tem of gunboats merely for the harbors and coasts of the United States, 
were declared by him, and in this opinion a great portion of the citizens 
of the Atlantic states agreed with him, to be but an apology for a proper 
naval force. 

This protracted period of commercial interruptions and restrictions was 
attended, as might have been anticipated, by a great reduction in the trade 
and revenue of the United States. The exports were much reduced in 
1808, 1809, and 1810 ; and the imports suffered corresponding depres- 
sion ; so that it became necessary to resort to loans to meet the demands 
on the public treasury. 

The American minister, Mr. Barlow, long remained at the court of 
France ; expostulating with its ministers, for unfriendly and injurious acts 
toward the United States ; and importuning for justice, and for some 
proofs of really amicable intentions in favor of the American government. 
But no direct and satisfactory answer was given to these repeated appli- 
cations of the American envoy. After several months of delay on the 
subject, the emperor was pleased to decree, that " so long as the British 
orders in council were unrepealed, and the principles of the treaty of 
Utrecht (1713) with respect to neutrals were in operation, his edicts of 
Berlin and Milan must remain in force, as to those nations which should 
suffer their flag to be denationalized." This was at once decisive as to the 
policy and views of the emperor, and as to the designed inoperativeness 
of the alleged repeal of those decrees, as stated and promised in August, 
1810. And when the British government was urged a second time to 
withdraw their orders in council, on the plea, by the American minister, 
that the French edicts were repealed, they declared, that " whenever those 
edicts were absolutely and unconditionally repealed by an authentic act of 
the French government, puhlichj promulgated, their orders would be re- 
voked."* 

The congressional elections in ISlO-'ll, proved that the policy of Mr. 
Madison's administration was sustained by a large majority of the Ameri- 
can people ; the preponderance of the democratic party being kept up in 
both branches of Congress. The twelfth Congress assembled on the 4th 
of November, 1811, when Henry Clay, of Kentucky, an ardent supporter 
of the administration, was elected speaker of the house of representatives ; 
it being the first time in which he had taken his seat in that body. He 
had previously been a member of the United States senate, at two short 
sessions, when he had acquired considerable reputation as a ready and 
eloquent debater, and exhibited some of those traits of character which 
have since distinguished him in the annals of the country, as a statesman. 

* Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 177 

The presence of Mr. Clay as speaker, and of Messrs. Calhoun, Cheves, 
and Lowndes, of South Carolina, with other active and spirited members 
of the house of representatives, aided by William 11. Crawford, of Geor- 
gia, and a few others in the senate, infused new vigor into the ranks of 
the supporters of the administration. It was soon determined that inac- 
tivity and indecision should no longer be the policy of the democratic 
party. For several years, including the latter part of Jefferson's adminis- 
tration, war with England had been contemplated by the executive gov- 
ernment of the United States, as a probable event ; but we have already 
seen Mr. Jefferson carefully avoided war measures, and Mr. Madison en- 
deavored to pursue a similar course. The non-intercourse laws and other 
restrictive measures, it was perceived, were becoming unpopular with the 
people, a great portion of whom were desirous that this policy should be 
changed. It was believed by the new leaders of the democratic party in 
Congress, that efficient measures were now demanded by the people, and 
that a war with Great Britain would be popular, particularly 'with the party 
which sustained the administration. 

The first efforts of the members of Congress favorable to a declaration 
of war with Great Britain, were directed to measures preparatory to the 
expected contest with that powerful nation. The effects of the policy 
which had been pursued by Mr. Jefferson, in reducing the army and navy, 
were now severely felt. For several years preceding this period, the mil- 
itary peace establishment had stood at only about 3,000 men, and the navy 
consisted at this time of only twenty vessels — ten frigates, and ten stoops- 
of-war and smaller vessels. The gunboats which had been built in dif- 
ferent parts of the United States, about one hundred and fifty in number, 
were only calculated for harbor defence. 

The policy of the administration respecting a standing army and a navy, 
was now changed, principally through the advice and influence of Mr. 
Clay, Mr. Calhoun, and Mr. Lowndes, notwithstanding they met with 
opposition from many of their democratic associates. Bills were passed 
for augmenting the army, by providing for the enlistment of twenty thou- 
sand men ; also authorizing the president of the United States to accept 
of the services of volunteers to the number of fifty thousand men ; and 
providing for the more complete organization of the army ; authorizing the 
president to cause the frigates in ordinary to be repaired, equipped, and 
put into actual service ; and appropriations were made for the purchase 
of timber and other materials for building additional frigates. The presi- 
dent was also authorized to require of the executives of the several states 
and territories, the organizing, arming, and equipment of their respective 
proportions of one hundred thousand militia, and to hold them in readiness 
to march at a moment's warning ; and one million of dollars was appro- 
priated toward defraying the expense of carrying the act into effect. 
, President Madison was, with much difficulty, brought to acquiesce in 



178 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

warlike measures of a decisive character. He still hoped that war might 
be avoided, either by negotiation, or a continuance of restrictive meas- 
ures on commerce with Great Britain. But he was soon made to under- 
stand that a more decided and energetic action on the part of the national 
government, was determined on, by the ardent democrats whose influence 
now predominated in Congress. The first presidential term of Mr. Mad- 
ison was drawing to a close, and the nomination of candidates for presi- 
dent and vice-president, to be supported by the democratic party at the 
approaching election, was to be made, by a caucus of members of the 
Congress then in session. The leading republicans of the state of New 
York who were dissatisfied with Mr. Madison's course, had it then in con- 
templation to nominate for the presidency, De Witt Clinton, who was then 
lieutenant-governor of that state, mayor of the city of New York, and 
high in the confidence of the party. His pretensions were sustained by 
Gideon Granger, the postmaster- general, and other influential democrats. 
In this state of things, Mr. Madison was waited upon by several of the 
leading republican members of Congress, and informed, in substance, that 
war with England was now resolved upon by the democratic party, the 
supporters of his administration ; that the people would no longer consent 
to a dilatory and inefficient course, on the part of the national govern- 
ment ; that unless a declaration of war took place previous to the presiden- 
tial election, the success of the democratic party might be endangered, 
and the government thrown into the hands of the federalists ; that unless 
Mr. Madison consented to act with his friends, and accede to a declara- 
tion of war with Great Britain, neither his nomination nor his re-election 
to the presidency could be relied on.* Thus situated, Mr. Madison con- 
cluded to waive his own objections to the course determined on by his 
political friends, and to do all he could for the prosecution of a war for 
which he had no taste ; and he pretended to no knowledge of war as a 
science or profession. 

The president did not sustain himself with counsellors adapted to the 
occasion. His cabinet consisted, at this time, of James Monroe, secretary 
of state, who succeeded Robert Smith in November, 1811 ; Albert Gal- 
latin, secretary of the treasury ; William Eustis, secretary of war ; Paul 
Hamilton, secretary of the navy ; and William Pinkney, attorney-general, 
who succeeded Caesar A. Rodney in that office in December, 1811. Of 
these cabinet officers, Mr. Monroe was the only one of military taste or 
experience, and he had only performed a limited service in the army of 
the revolution ; Mr. Gallatin was avowedly opposed to the declaration of 
war ; Mr. Eustis, the secretary of war, knew but little of military affairs ; 
and the secretary of the navy had no knowledge of naval affairs to qualify 
him for his position. The attorney-general, Pinkney, considered the 

*'Thi3 information was derived, by a friend of the writer, from James Fisk, a democratic 
member of Congress in 1812, and one of a committee wbo waited on Mr. Madison. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 179 

declaration of war premature while government was so entirely unpre- 
pared. The postmaster-general, Gideon Granger, not then a cabinet offi- 
cer, but at the head of a department important for military operations, was 
disaffected to the president, in party sympathy with senators and others 
professing, perhaps entertaining, inclinations for the war, but denying that 
with Madison as leader, it ever could prosper.* 

On the 9th of March, 1812, Mr. Madison transmitted to Congress a 
special message, with certain documents which had been communicated 
to the executive by John Henry, a native of Ireland, who alleged that he 
had been employed as a secret agent of the British government, in the 
New England states, " in intrigues with the disaffected, for the purpose 
of bringing about resistance to the laws, and eventually, in concert with a 
British force, of destroying the Union, and forming the eastern part thereof 
into a political connexion with Great Britain." 

John Henry was born a subject of Great Britain. For a while he had 
resided in this country, and held a commission in the army of the United 
States. Having left the service, by his own account he resided some time 
in Vermont, and afterward returned to his natural allegiance, and became 
a resident of Canada. The?re, in the beginning of the year 1809, if his 
own account is to be credited, he was employed by Sir James H. Craig, 
governor of Canada, to repair to Boston, for the purpose of ascertaining 
whether the federal politicians of the New England states, particularly 
those of Massachusetts, were desirous of withdrawing from the Union, 
and forming a close connexion with Great Britain. Accordingly, in the 
month of February of that year, he commenced his journey, and after 
spending some time in Vermont, and passing through New Hampshire, he 
leached Boston early in the month of March. Having taken his station 
in the New England capital, he opened his correspondence with his 
employers in Canada. His first letter is dated March 5, 1809, in which 
he remarked that it had not thus far appeared necessary for him to dis- 
cover to any person the object of his visit ; nor was it probable that he 
should find it necessary, for the purpose of gaining a knowledge of the 
arrangements of the federal party, to avow himself as a regular authorized 
agent of the British government, even to those who would keep the se- 
cret — that he had sufficient means of information to enable him to judge 
of the proper time for offering the co-operation of Great Britain, and 
opening a correspondence between the governor-general of British 
America and disaffected individuals in Massachusetts. Accordingly, he 
remained unknown at Boston till the 25th of May following, when he 
wrote to his principals at Quebec, that it would be unnecessary for him, 
in the existing state of things, and unavailing also, to attempt to carry into 
effect the original purposes of his mission. He was soon recalled from 
that mission, and returned to Canada ; and in 1811 was in England, peti- 
• IngersoU's History of the War. 



ISO 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 



tioning the British government for compensation for his services above 
mentioned. For some cause or other, the ministry declined paying him ; 
but referred him to the governor of Canada, on the ground that they had 
not discovered any wish on the part of Sir James Craig that Henry's 
claims for compensation should be referred to the mother-country, and be- 
cause no allusion was made to any kind of arrangement or agreement that 
had been made by that officer with him.* 

Mr. Sullivan remarks, that " there are many persons who remember 
John Henry, and that he was in Boston in 1809. But no one ever heard 
it suggested that he was a British agent. He was said to be engaged in 
some sort of land speculation ; but very few knew or cared how he was 
employed. He was a handsome, well-behaved man, and was received in. 
some respectable families." 

The British minister at Washington, in a letter to Mr. Monroe, the sec- 
retary of state, dated the 11th of March, 1812, disclaimed most solemnly, 
on his own part, having had any knowledge whatever of the existence of 
such a mission, or of such transactions as the communication of Mr. 
Henry referred to, and expressed his conviction that, from what he knew 
of those branches of his majesty's government with which he had inter- 
course, no countenance whatever was given by them to any schemes hos- 
tile to the internal tranquillity of the United States. 

The committee on foreign relations, in Congress, to whom the message 
and documents were referred, in their report, remarked that, " The trans- 
action disclosed by the president's message, presents to the mind of the 
committee conclusive evidence, that the British government, at a period 
of peace, and during the most friendly professions, have been deliberately 
and perfidiously pursuing measures to divide these states, and to involve 
our citizens in all the guilt of treason, and the horrors of a civil war." 

Henry, in this transaction, was accompanied by a foreign adventurer, 
who called his name Crillon, and claimed the title of count. He went 
through a long examination before the committee of foreign relations, but 
his testimony was considered unimportant. 

It appears that Henry, after being unsuccessful in England, in urging 
his claims upon that government, sailed for the United States, and arrived 
at Boston in December, 1811. He visited Governor Gerry, of Massachu- 
setts, who gave him a letter of introduction to Mr. Madison. 

In February, 1812, he made his disclosures to the president, for which 
he received fifty thousand dollars, which were drawn from the treasury, 
on account of the secret service fund, in the name of John Graham, chief 
clerk in the office of secretary of state. Henry left Washington on the 
11th of February, and on the 9th of JNIarch he sailed for France, in the 
United States sloop-of-war Wasp. 

It is a curious fact, that Henry had been at Washington, had got his 
• Dwight's History and Review. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 181 

money, and had returned northwardly, and was at Bahimore on the 11th 
of February, and that his letter of disclosure to James Mo.nroe is dated 
the 20th of that month, at Philadelphia. It is remarkable that Mr. Madi- 
son had these disclosures at least twenty-five days before he made them 
known to Congress ; that when he did so make them known, Henry was 
actually under sail for France, and, consequently, could not be called on 
for any explanation.* 

The Henry plot proved of no advantage to the administration and its 
supporters, but had a tendency to increase and extend the feelings of ex- 
asperation and enmity toward the government, entertained by a large ma- 
jority of the New England people, whose characters were assailed by the 
pretended exposure of Henry, although he did not mention the name of 
even a solitary person Avho ever uttered a sentence of disaffection to the 
Union, or of a wish to form a connexion with Great Britain. Besides a 
m'ajority of the people of New England, the federal party throughout the 
Union, and a respectable portion of the democratic party, were opposed to 
the approaching declaration of war. Still, the leading men among the 
friends of the administration felt a confidence that the measure was re- 
quired, and would be sustained, by a majority of the people. 

After the return of Mr. Pinkney to the United States, from his mission 
to England, Mr. Madison appointed Jonathan Russell charge d'affaires of 
the United States at London. Mr. Russell reached London in November, 
1811. On the 14th of February, 1812, he wrote to Mr. Monroe, secretary 
of state, that at that time there had been exhibited no evidence on the 
part of the British government to repeal the orders in council. On 
the 4th of March he wrote to Mr. Monroe, informing him that he had at- 
tended the discussions in parliament, on motions by Lord Lansdowne and 
Mr. Brougham, " and if anything was wanting to prove the inflexible de- 
termination of the present ministry to persevere in the orders in council, 
without modification or relaxation, the declarations of the leading mem- 
bers of administration on these occasions, must place it beyond the 
possibility of a doubt. Mr. Percival said, ' As England was contending 
for the defence of her maritime rights, and for the preservation of her na- 
tional existence, which essentially depended on the maintenance of those 
rights, she could not be expected, in the prosecution of this great and pri- 
mary interest, to arrest or vary her course, to listen to the pretensions of 
neutral nations, or to remove the evils, however they might be regretted, 
which the imperious policy of the times indirectly and unintentionally ex- 
tended to them.' 

" I no longer entertain a hope that we can honorably avoid war." 

On the 30th of May, 1812, Mr. Foster, the British minister at Wash- 
ington, addressed a long letter to Mr. Monroe, in which he reviewed the 
whole ground of controversy between the United States and Great Britain. 

• Sullivan. 



182 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

He contends tliat the Berlin and Milan decrees had not, in fact, been re- 
voked, and concludes as follows : — 

" I am commanded, sir, to express, on the part of his royal highness, 
the prince regent, that while his royal highness entertains the most sin- 
cere desire to conciliate America, he yet can never concede that the block- 
ade of May, 1806, could justly be made the foundation, as it avowedly has 
been, for the decrees of Bonaparte ; and further, that the British govern- 
ment must ever consider the principles on which that blockade rested (ac- 
companied as it was by an adequate blockading force), to have been strictly 
consonant to the established law of nations, and a legitimate instance of 
the practice which it recognises. 

" Secondly, that Great Britain must continue to reject the other spuri- 
ous doctrines promulgated by France in the duke of Bassano's report, as 
binding upon all nations. She can not admit, as a true declaration of pub- 
lic law, that free ships make free goods, nor the converse of that proposi- 
tion, that enemy's ships destroy the character of neutral property in the 
cargo : she can not consent, by the adoption of such a principle, to deliver 
absolutely the commerce of France from the pressure of the naval power 
of Great Britain, and, by the abuse of the neutral flag, to allow her enemy 
to obtain, without the expense of sustaining a navy, for the trade and 
property of French subjects, a degree of freedom and security which even 
the commerce of her own subjects can not find under the protection of the 
British navy. 

" She can not admit, as a principle of public law, that arms and military 
stores are alone contraband of war, and that ship-timber and naval stores 
are excluded from that description. Neither can she admit, without re- 
taliation, that the mere fact of commercial intercourse with British ports 
and subjects should be made a crime in all nations, and that the armies 
and decrees of France should be directed to enforce a principle so new 
and unheard-of in war. 

" Great Britain feels, that to relinquish her just measures of self-de- 
fence and retaliation, would be to surrender the best means of her own 
preservation and rights ; and with them the rights of other nations, so 
long as France maintains and acts upon such principles." 

Such was the state of things between the United States and Great Brit- 
ain, when it was determined by the friends of the administration in Con- 
gress, to declare war. As a prelude to that event, an act was passed on 
the 4th of April, 1812, laying an embargo on vessels of the United States 
for the term of ninety days. 

On the 20th of April, George Clinton, vice-president of the United 
States, died at Washington, at the age of seventy-three. The senate had 
previously elected William H. Crawford president /»ro tern, of that body. 

Louisiana was admitted into the Union as a state on the 8th of April, 
1812 ; and by a subsequent act on the 4th of June, the territory before 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 1S3 

called Louisiana, was organized under the name of the Missouri ter- 
ritory. 

Among other important acts passed at this session, besides the derlara- 
tion of war were the following : To prohibit the exportation of specie, 
goods, wares, or merchandise, from the United States during the continu- 
ance of the embargo ; for the establishment of a general land office in the 
treasury department ; to provide for the surveying of six millions of acres 
of the public lands, to be set apart and reserved for the purpose of satisfy- 
ing the bounties of one hundred and sixty acres each promised to the sol- 
diers of the United States by the acts previously passed for augmenting 
the army ; authorizing the issue of five millions of dollars in treasury- 
notes ; imposing one hundred per cent, additional duties on imports ; con- 
firming grants to lands in the Mississippi territory, on British or Spanish 
warrants made prior to October 27, 1795 ; appropriating an additional sum 
for the Cumberland road ; establishing various postroads ; prohibiting 
American vessels from trading with the enemy ; and an act authorizing a 
subscription for the old six per cent, and deferred stocks, and providing 
for an exchange of the same. A law was also passed for the apportion- 
ment of representatives in Congress according to the census of 1810. 

The elections in 1812, in those states where the same were held in the 
spring, were generally unfavorable to the administration ; although the 
opinion was entertained and expressed, by a large proportion of the peo- 
ple, that Congress would not declare war. The federal party prevailed in 
the elections in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and NewYork ; 
showing a considerable change in favor of that party, compared with the 
elections of the previous year. 

It was with some difficulty that a majority of Congress were induced to 
vote for the preliminary measures to the declaration of war ; but on the 
question of the embargo, the majority in the house of representatives was 
twenty-nine votes, in favor of the act. 

On the first of June, the president transmitted a special message to 
Congress, in which he reviewed the difficulties which had occurred in our 
relations with Great Britain, and those which then existed ; describing, in 
strong language, the aggressions with which we had been visited by that 
nation. This message was referred to the committee on foreign relations, 
in the house of representatives, a majority of whom, viz., John C. Cal- 
houn, of South Carolina ; Felix Grundy, of Tennessee ; John Smilie, of 
Pennsylvania ; John A. Harper, of New Hampshire ; Joseph Desha, of 
Kentucky ; and Ebenezer Seaver, of Massachusetts, agreed upon, and re- 
ported to the house on the 3d of June, a manifesto, as the basis of a dec- 
laration of war. The reasons given by the committee for recommending 
an immediate appeal to arms were, in substance, as follows : The im- 
pressment of American seamen by the commanders of British ships-of- 
war ; the British doctrine and system of blockade ; and the adoption and 



184 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 



continuance of the orders in council of that government ; which operated 
extensively to the interruption and injury of the American commerce. To 
which was added a long and unsatisfied demand for remuneration on ac- 
count of depredations committed by English subjects on the lawful com- 
merce of the United States. 

During the proceedings on the subject of the declaration of war, Con- 
gress sat with closed doors. The measure was adopted in the house of 
representatives by a vote of 79 to 49 ; but was delayed in the senate for 
fourteen days after it was submitted to that body, when it finally passed, 
19 to 13. At first it was evident that the majority was against war; and 
a proposition was made, on which the senate were equally divided on the 
first vote, for granting reprisals against the commerce of Great Britain, by 
public or private ships of the United States ; but after several days of dis- 
cipline and urging, a majority voted in favor of it. Of the 79 members of 
the house who voted for the war, 62 resided south, and 17 north, of the 
Delaware; of the 19 senators who voted on the same side, 14 resided 
south, and 5 north, of the Delaware. Thus the war may be said to have 
been a measure of the south and west, to take care of the interests of the 
north, much against the will of the latter. The whole number of mem- 
bers in both branches, residing north of the Delaware, was (J9, of whom 
only 2 1 voted for the war.* 

The act declaring Avar was approved by the president on the 18th of 
June, 1812, and is remarkably short and comprehensive. It was drawn 
by the attorney-general of the United States, William Pinkney, and is in 
the words following : — 

" An act declaring war between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and 
Ireland, and the dependencies thereof, and the U7iited States of America and 
their territories. 

" Be it enacted, <^c. That war be, and the same is hereby declared to 
exist between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the 
dependencies thereof, and the United States of America and their territo- 
ries ; and that the president of the United States is hereby authorized to 
use the whole land and naval force of the United States to carry the same 
into effect, and to issue to private armed vessels of the United States 
commissions, or letters of marque and general reprisal, in such form as he 
shall think proper, and under the seal of the United States, against the 
vessels, goods, and effects, of the government of the said United Kingdom 
of Great Britain and Ireland, and the subjects thereof." 

On the day following the date of the above act, the president issued his 
proclamation announcing the fact, and calling upon the people of the Uni- 
ted States to sustain the public authorities in the measures to be adopted 
for obtaining a speedy, a just, and an honorable peace. 

Immediately after the declaration of war was announced, a party was 

• Sullivan. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 185 

organized, composed principally of the federalists and some disaffected 
democrats, under the name of " the peace party." This party endeavored 
to compel the government to make peace by raising every possible ob- 
struction to the prosecution of the war. This course was considered as 
more actuated by feelings of party spirit than by patriotism, and many 
prominent federalists gave the government their support, whenever they 
Ibund them disposed to carry on the war with vigor and effect. 

On the 26th of June, Congress passed an act respecting letters of 
marque, prizes, and prize goods ; and great expectations were entertained of 
the injuries to be inflicted upon British commerceby our privateers, as well as 
the profits to be gained thereby, by American adventurers in such enterprises. 

There was a great incongruity between appropriations for the war and 
provision for them, and, without a "cent to be raised by taxes, more than 
fifteen millions of dollars were appropriated for the army, and nearly two 
millions seven hundred thousand for the navy, when the income by cus- 
toms and sales of public lands, in 1812, was only about nine millions and 
a half. The only fiscal measures of the twelfth Congress at the first ses- 
sion, were a loan of eleven millions of dollars, authorized by act of the 
14th of March, 1812, doubling the duties on importations, and providing 
for the issue of five millions of treasury-notes. 

The British government had resisted the demand of the American gov- 
ernment, for the repeal of the orders in council, from August, 1810, to 
May, 1812, on the specific ground that the French decree of revocation 
of the former date was conditional. But upon receiving official intelli- 
gence that France had definitively revoked her decrees, the British orders 
in council were repealed in June, 1812, within five days after the declara- 
tion of war by Congress. A little delay on the part of the American gov- 
ernment would have removed this ground of controversy, and left nothing 
for this country to contend for but freedom from impressment. The 
French emperor had authorized his minister to declare to the American 
government, that the Berlin and Milan decrees were revoked on the 1st 
of November, 1810. Upon this annunciation, application was made by 
our government to that of Great Britain, to follow the example set by 
France, and repeal their orders in council. This was refused on the part 
of Great Britain, on the ground that the revocation of the French decrees 
was not absolute, but was conditional. This question gave rise to repeated 
and labored discussions between the two governments, the American ne- 
gotiators maintaining with great zeal that the repeal was absolute, and 
those of Great Britain contending with equal pertinacity that it was con- 
ditional. In the course of a conversation between Mr. Barlow, the Amer- 
ican minister in France, with the duke of Bassano, in May, 1812, the 
duke produced a decree, dated April 28, 1811, more than a year previous, 
declaring the Berlin and Milan decrees definitively revoked, and to date 
from the 1st of November, 1810. 



ISb ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 



Immediately after the act doclaring war was passed by Congress, the 
federal members of the house of representatives who were in the minority 
on that occasion, published an address to their constituents. It is a pa- 
per of great ability, and sets forth the state of the country at that time, the 
course of the administration, and its supporters in Congress, and the rea- 
sons of the minority for opposing the war. 

The sentiments and views of the friends of the administration, the ad- 
vocates of the war, are shown in the remarks of Mr. Clay, speaker of the 
house of representatives, in a debate on the embargo question, in April, 
1812. " Mr. Clay Avarmly expressed his satisfaction and full approbation 
of the president's message, and the proposition now before the committee 
(the embargo). He approved of it, because it is to be viewed as a direct 
precursor to war. He considered tWs as a war measure, and as such he 
should discuss it. Sir, after the pledges we have made, and the stand we 
have taken, are we now to cover ourselves with shame and indelible dis- 
grace, by retreating from the measures and ground we have taken ? He 
did not think we were upon this occasion in the least embarrassed by the 
conduct of France in burning our vessels ; that may be a subject of future 
consideration. We have complete evidence as to the enemy whom we 
have selected. As weak and imbecile as we are, we would combine 
France if necessary. There is no intrinsic difficulty or terror in the war ; 
there is no terror except what arises from the novelty. Where are we to 
come in contact with our enemy ? On our own continent. If gentlemen 
please to call these sentiments quixotic, he would say he pitied them for 
their sense of honor. We know no pains have been spared to vilify the 
government. If we now proceed we shall be supported by the people. 
Many of our people have not believed that war is to take place. They 
have been wilfully blinded. He was willing to give them further notice. 
It remains for us to say whether we will shrink, or follow up the patriotic 
conduct of the president. As an American and a member of this house, 
he felt a pride that the executive had recommended this measure. He 
said he was at issue with the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Randolph) as 
to the public sentiment. That it is with us, is proved by the glowing and 
patriotic resolutions of fourteen legislatures. He said there was no divis- 
ion in the southern and western states — federalists and republicans were 
united for war."* 

On the 18th of May, 1812, James Madison was nominated for re-election 
as president of the United States, by a caucus of eighty-two republican 
members of Congress. The vote in caucus in favor of Mr. Madison was 
unanimous. John Langdon, of New Hampshire, was nominated for vice- 
president, but as he declined on account of his advanced age, being then 
seventy-one years old, Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, received the nomi- 
nation in his stead, on the 8th of June. The opposing candidate for the 
* Niles's Register, vol. v., p. 105. 



ADMINISTRATION- OF MADISON. 187 

presidency was De Witt Clinton, who was nominated at a meeting of the 
republican members of the legislature, on the 29th of May, 1812. Of 
91 members present at the caucus, 87 approved of the nomination of Mr. 
Clinton. The federalists held a convention in the city of New York, in 
September, 1812, when seventy members were present, from eleven states. 
It was resolved to support Mr. Clinton, as the best chance of defeating 
Mr. Madison. Jared Ingersoll, of Pennsylvania, was nominated for vice- 
president, in opposition to Mr. Gerry. 

Congress adjourned on the 6th of July, 1812 ; previous to which they 
passed a resolution requesting the president to recommend a day of public 
humiliation and prayer to be observed by the people of the United States, 
and the offering of supplications to Almighty God for the safety and wel- 
fare of the states, his blessing on their arms, and the speedy restoration 
of peace. The president therefore issued his proclamation on the 9th of 
July, recommending the third Thursday in August to be set apart for the 
above purpose, which day was accordingly observed. 

On the 26th of June, or eight days after the declaration of war, Mr. 
Monioe, secretary of state, wrote to Mr. Russell, charge des affaires of 
the United States in England, informing him of the declaration, and au- 
thorizing him to propose an armistice to the British government, if the or- 
ders in council were repealed, and no illegal blockades substituted for 
them — also that orders were given to discontinue the impressment of sea- 
men. The British government, through Lord Castlereagh, on the 29tJa of 
August, communicated to Mr. Russell their refusal to accede to the propo- 
sition of the government of the United States, " as being on various 
grounds absolutely inadmissible." Mr. Russell therefore demanded and 
obtained his passports, and left England in September. 

When the orders in council were repealed, on the 23d of June, 1812, 
almost simultaneously with our declaration of war, the expectation in Eng- 
land was so strong of the war being prevented or stopped, that the first 
step of the British ex-minister to the United States, when he reached 
Halifax, on his way to England, was to send to the governor-general of 
Canada, to propose to the American government terms of pacification. 
Mr. Foster had, no doubt, assured his government that war would never 
be declared, as the opponents of the measure had encouraged him in the 
persuasion that it was impossible. And when the British orders in coun- 
cil were repealed, that government had every reason to be confident that it 
neither could nor would be persevered in. Great Britain was, moreover, 
at that moment, absorbed by her stupendous struggle with France, and her 
statesmen had neither time, means, nor thought, to bestow upon a remote 
and comparatively insignificant conflict on this side of the Atlantic, with 
an unarmed, unwarlike, and divided people. Nearly seven months there- 
fore elapsed after the declaration of war, before England took any impor- 
tant step of counteraction. The English manifesto was not issued till the 



188 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

9th of January, 1813. The blockade of the Chesapeake and Delaware 
was not proclaimed till the 26th of December, 1812. British naval forces 
on tlie American coasts and stations did not appear in any formidable 
numbers till February, 1813, on the 4lh of which month and year. Admi- 
ral Sir John Borlase Warren, then naval commander-in-chief, took posses- 
sion of Hampton Roads, in the Chesapsake bay, with two ships-of-the- 
line, four frigates, and several smaller vessels-of-war. In the spring of 
the year 1813, the British fleets on the American coasts and stations, from 
Halifax to Bermuda, consisted of six 74 gunships, 13 frigates, and 18 
sloops-of-war ; all under the command of Admiral Warren ; most of them 
in the Chesapeake bay, a few in the Delaware bay, and others distributed 
along the coast. On the 20th of March, 1813, the whole coast of the Uni- 
ted States was declared to be in a state of blockade, with the exception 
of Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. The object of 
the exception of several states was obviously to sow dissension among the 
United States.* 

Admiral Warren had arrived at Halifax in September, 1812, and was 
invested, not only with an extensive naval command, but also with full 
power to negotiate a provisional accommodation with our government. On 
the 30th of September, he wrote from Halifax to Mr. Monroe, the secre- 
tary of state, that the departure of Mr. Foster from America had devolved 
on the admiral the charge of making known to the government of the Uni- 
ted States the sentiments entertained by the prince regent upon the exist- 
ing relations of the two countries. The orders in council, he said, ceased 
to exist nearly at the same time that the United States declared war ; on 
receipt of which declaration, an order in council, dated 31st of July, was 
issued, to detain American vessels. Under these circumstances, the ad- 
miral proposed, as he was directed, the immediate cessation of hostilities 
between the two countries. Should the American government accede to 
this proposal for the cessation of hostilities, Admiral Warren was author- 
ized to arrange a revocation of the laws interdicting British commerce and 
ships-of-war from the harbors and waters of the United States. In de- 
fault of such revocation, he says, the orders in council of January, 1807, 
and 1809, were to be revived. 

Mr. Monroe's answer to Admiral Warren, dated 27th of October, 1812, 
informed him that it would be very satisfactory to the president to meet 
the British government in such arrangements as might terminate, without 
delay, hostilities, on conditions honorable to both nations. Alluding to the 
proposition which had been made^ through Mr. Russell, for an armistice, 
which was rejected by the British government, and presuming that it was 
equally the interest of both countries to adjust the subject of impressment, 
the president was willing to agree to an armistice, provided Admiral War- 
ren was authorized, and would agree, to negotiate terms by which im- 

• Ingersoll. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 1§9 

pressment should be suspended. Experience, it Avas said, had evinced 
that no peace could be durable unless that object was provided for. The 
United States could not admit or acquiesce in the right of impressment 
during negotiation. The orders in council having been repealed, and no 
illegal blockades revived or substituted in their stead, and an understand- 
ing being obtained on the subject of impressment, the president was wil- 
ling to agree to a cessation of hostilities, with a view to arrange by treaty 
every other subject of controversy. 

The British government refusing these terms of accommodation, war 
was continued for the single grievance of impressment, with the English 
menace that such blockades as the repealed orders in council authorized, 
that is, illegal blockades, which Lord Melville pronounced impracticable, 
woidd also be enforced. 

The conditions proffered by our government, through Mr. Russell, their 
charge d'affaires in London, when war was declared, were stated by the 
president, in his annual message to Congress, on the 4th of November, 
1812, without reference to the rejected overture from Admiral Warren. 
They were, repeal of the orders in council, no revival of blockades 
violating established rules, a stop put to the practice of impressment, 
and immediate discharge of American seamen from British ships. In 
return, we proffered an act of Congress, not a mere executive assur- 
ance, for the exclusion of British seamen, nay, more, all British natives, 
from our vessels, provided Great Britain excluded Americans from hers. 
On these terms an armistice, to prevent hostilities and bloodshed, could 
be improved into definitive and comprehensive adjustment of all de- 
pending controversies. These were reasonable and moderate terms ; but 
which, while England was at war with France, there was little hope she 
would accept, impressment, if there be any right to it, being a war right, 
at all events a war need. The terms were rejected as soon as proffered 
to Great Britain.* 

Previous to the arrival of Admiral Warren, another attempt had been 
made on the British side, to bring about a suspension of hostilities. By 
the advice of Mr. Foster, the British ex-minister. Sir George Prevost, 
governor of Canada, in July, 1812, despatched his adjutant-general, Baynes, 
with a flag of truce, to Greenbush, near Albany, where General Dearborn, 
of the American army, was stationed, to negotiate with him an armistice, 
which Dearborn was prevailed upon at once to subscribe. It suspended 
military operations, excepting General Hull's expedition, till the presi- 
dent's pleasure should be ascertained. This proposal was not made by 
the British government itself, but only through its colonial agents, and 
might not be sanctioned in England ; besides, it was thought it would give 
advantages to Great Britain, and, constantly insisting on impressment as 
a grievance to be removed, Mr. Madison at once refused to confirm the 

* iDgersoU. 



190 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

act of General Dearborn, rejected the proposed armistice, and persevered 
in hostilities. 

It is foreign from the object of this sketch to give a detail of the mili- 
tary and naval events of the war. Under the direction of the federal gov- 
ernment the war had its course. Many of the people assisted no further 
than the lavi^s required, and continued to express a desire that it might 
soon be brought to an end. The opponents of the war, and those who 
wished for its termination, constantly increased. 

The first military effort after the war began, Avas attended with defeat 
and disgrace. A considerable army, under General Hull, invaded Upper 
Canada, but soon returned to Detroit, which post was shortly afterward 
attacked by a British army, to whom it was surrendered by the American 
commander, in August, 1812. Several other disasters attended the Ameri- 
can arms on the northern and western frontiers during the first year's 
campaign, but in some instances the American troops showed great 
bravery, and evinced that they only required skilful direction, to command 
success. 

Most unexpectedly to the administration and the nation, a series of bril- 
liant exploits attended the small naval establishment of the United States ; 
commencing with the capture of the British frigate Guerriere, by the Con- 
stitution, Captain Hull, on the 18th of August, 1812. This was followed 
on the 18th of October, by the surrender of the British brig Frolic to the 
American sloop-of-war Wasp, Captain Jones ; and on the 25th of the 
same month, the frigate United States, Captain Decatur, captured the 
British frigate Macedonian. The Constitution was again successful on the 
30th of December, when she was commanded by Commodore Bainbridge, 
and captured the British frigate Java. 

This succession of triumphs completely established the navy in public 
favor, as well as convinced the administration of its importance, and from 
that period the democratic party abandoned its opposition to a naval estab- 
lishment, consenting also to its gradual increase. The additional expen- 
ses incurred for this purpose were approved by the federalists, as they had 
always advocated the policy of a navy. 

The presidential election in 1812 resulted in the choice of Mr. Madi- 
son as president for another term of four years from the 4th of March, 
1813, and of Mr. Gerry as vice-president. The opposing candidates, De 
Witt Clinton and Jared IngersoU, received the vote of the state of New 
York, where a section of the democratic party, as well as most of the fed- 
eralists, -sustained the claims of Mr. Clinton ; but in other states their sup- 
porters were almost exclusively confined to the federal party. The elec- 
toral votes stood as follows: For Madison, 128; Gerry, 131 ; Clinton, 
89 ; IngersoU, 86. The elections for members of Congress also resulted 
in a large majority of the friends of the administration ; and thus the pol- 
, icy of the war was sustained by a majority of the people ; but it was evi- 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 191 

denl that the opposition was powerful and increasing, particularly in the 
eastern and middle states. 

Congress assembled on the 2d of November, 1812, and continued in 
session until the 3d of March, 1813, when their term expired. The 
principal acts passed related to the army and navy, and to provide means 
for carrying on the war. Authority was given to the executive for the 
construction of four ships of seventy-four guns each, six frigates, and six 
sloops-of-war ; to issue five millions of dollars in treasury-notes ; and to 
create a new stock for a loan of sixteen millions of dollars. Laws were 
also passed for further augmenting the army, and for the more perfect or- 
ganization of the same ; to encourage vaccination among the citizens of 
the United States generally ; prohibiting the employment on board the 
public or private armed vessels of any seamen except citizens of the Uni- 
ted States, or native persons of color, after the termination of the war. 
The object of the last act, was to induce the British government to come 
to some arrangement respecting the impressment of seamen. Another 
act vested in the president the power of retaliation for any violation of 
the laws and usages of civilized nations, by British officers, or by Indians 
in alliance with the British government, or those acting under the author- 
ity of the said government. An important bill to the commercial interest 
was also passed, principally through the efforts of Mr. Cheves, of South 
Carolina, in its behalf, directing the secretary of the treasury to remit cer- 
tain fines, penalties, and forfeitures ; in other words, to cancel the mer- 
chants' bonds given for goods seized under the non-importation act, and 
imported from Great Britain and Ireland after the declaration of war. This 
bill was opposed by most of the democratic members in the house of rep- 
resentatives, and was carried by the close vote of 64 to 61. 

On the 4th of March, 1813, the second term of Mr. Madison com- 
menced, in consequence of his re-election to the presidency. At twelve 
o'clock on that day, having attended at the capitol, for the purpose of 
taking the oath of office, he delivered to the vast concourse of people 
assembled on the occasion, his inaugura^address. 

Some changes had taken place in Mr. Madison's cabinet, previous to 
his re-election. On the 12th of January, 1813, William Jones, of Penn- 
sylvania, was appointed secretary of the navy, in place of Paul Hamilton, 
resigned ; and General John Armstrong, having returned from France, 
was, on the 13th of January, appointed secretary of war, in place of Doctor 
Eustis, resigned. 

The 13th Congress assembled at the capitol on the 24th of May, 1813, 
in conformity to an act passed the preceding February, and continued in 
session until the second of August. The democratic majority in the house 
of representatives was shown in the election of speaker. Henry Clay 
was again chosen, receiving 89 votes, to 54 for Mr. Pitkin, of Connecticut, 
a leading federalist, and there were five scattering votes. The majority, 



192 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

therefore, in favor of the administration, and of the policy of the war, was 
decided, and in the senate the democratic majority was, likewise large, but 
several of the senators of that party were not particularly friendly to the 
president and his cabinet, and sought on some occasions to embarrass the 
administration in various measures proposed, as well as on the subject of 
nominations to office. 

On the 8th of March, 1813, the Russian minister at Washington, Mr. 
Daschkoff", communicated to the American government an offer from the 
emperor Alexander, of his mediation between the United States and Great 
Britain, with a view to bring about peace between them. The Russian min- 
ister at the same time declared, that the emperor took pleasure in doing jus- 
tice to the wisdom of the government of the United States, and was convinced 
that it had done all that it could to prevent the rupture. On the 11th of 
March, the president formally accepted the Russian mediation, and in a few 
days afterward appointed Messrs. Albert Gallatin, John Quincy Adams, and 
James A. Bayard, commissioners or envoys to negotiate a treaty of peace 
with Great Britain, under the mediation of the emperor of Russia. Messrs. 
Gallatin and Bayard embarked soon after from Philadelphia, in the ship 
Neptune, under a flag of truce, to join Mr. Adams in St. Petersburg, and 
arrived in the Baltic in June following. It was probably owing to the 
confidential relation between Mr. Adams and the emperor, that the media- 
tion of Russia was tendered ; "and it appears, by official documents, to 
have been first suggested to Mr. Adams, at St. Petersburg, by the Russian 
minister, Romanzoff, on the 20th of September, 1812 ; before he commu- 
nicated the same to Mr. Daschkoff", Russian ambassador to the United 
States. 

Mr. Adams was then American minister at the Russian court, having 
been appointed by Mr. Madison to that mission, in 1809. It was not till 
October, 1812, that Mr. Adams had information of our war, and not till De- 
cember, 1812, did he get a duplicate of his despatches from Washington, 
dated July 1st, 1812, to apprize him of the war declared nearly six months 
before. Meantime, the French iAvasion of Russia had been driven back 
to Poland, where Mr. Barlow, American minister to France, was invited to 
meet the French emperor at Wilna ; on his way to which place he died, 
at Czarnovitch, the 26th of December, 1812. When there was reason to 
believe that the coalition, of which Russia and Great Britain were the 
principal members, would triumph over the French, the Russian emperor 
proffered his mediation to put a stop to hostilities between the United States 
and Great Britain, which interrupted American commerce with Russia.* 

The Russian mediation Avas declined by the British government, in 
September, 1813, but on the 4th of November Lord Castlereagh informed 
the American government that Great Britain was willing to enter upon a 
direct negotiation for peace. This proposition was accepted by President 

• Ingersoll. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 193 

Madison, and Lord Castlereagh was informed that measures would be ta- 
ken for carrying it into effect, at Gottenburg, in Sweden. The place of 
meeting was, however, afterward changed to Ghent, in Belgium. 

When the nomination of Messrs. Gallatin, Adams, and Bayard, as en- 
voj's to negotiate peace, came before the senate, on the 31st of May, 1813, 
the two latter were confirmed, but Mr. Gallatin was rejected, 18 to 17, on 
the ground that the offices of envoy extraordinary and secretary of the 
treasury are incompatible, and ought not to be united in the same person. 
The president informed the senate that the oiRce of secretary of the treas- 
ury was not vacant, but in the absence of Mr. Gallatin the duties of that 
office were performed by William Jones, secretary of the navy. Mr. 
Gallatin was afterward nominated, when no longer secretary of the treas- 
ury, and confirmed. Several other nominations by the president were 
rejected by the senate at this session. 

The principal business of Congress at this session, was to provide 
means for paying the interest on loans already authorized, and other mat- 
ters incident to the war. The financial plan which had been proposed by 
Mr. Gallatin, secretary of the treasury, to raise the necessary funds, was 
simply to double the existing duties on imports, as had been done, and by 
laying the necessary internal taxes, to raise an annual revenue sufficient 
to pay the ordinary expenses of government, and the interest of such sums' 
as it would become necessary to borrow ; and to support the war by a 
series of loans. But internal taxes were very unpopular, and Congress 
was slow in imposing them. Mr. Madison was of opinion that the people 
Avould not take war and taxation together, and the majority of the twelfth 
Congress deemed it advisable to refrain from imposing direct taxes, until 
the presidential election had taken place. Their successors of the thir- 
teenth Congress were therefore called upon to provide the means referred 
to. This was done by passing acts for the assessment and collection of 
direct taxes and internal duties ; soon followed by acts imposing duties on 
refined sugars, sales at auction, retailers' licenses, stamps, carriages, licen- 
ses to distillers, and a direct tax of three millions of dollars a year. 

The national finances at this period, were in a state of much embarrass- 
ment. Treasury-notes, issued according to act of Congress, were at a 
great discount ; and although the first loan in 1812 was taken at par for 
six per cent, stock, the second loan authorized by government was taken 
on disadvantageous terms for the United States, and all paid in depreci- 
ated currency. The banks in the Union had suspended specie payments, 
excepting a part of those of the New England states. In the early part 
of 1813, the demands on the public treasury were far greater than had 
been anticipated, owing to the unfavorable circumstances in which the 
country was placed, and the improvident course of the administration in 
carrying on the war. When the militia, particularly of the middle states, 
were called out, they were not sufficiently armed, and extraordinary ex- 
13 



194 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

penses were incurred to equip them. There was also a great deficiency 
of blankets and other clothing for the soldiers, as the importations had 
been restricted, and the manufacture of woollens was then comparatively 
small in the United States. 

Still, the war served to show the strength of the government, and the 
patriotism of the citizens. Although a bare majority of the people approved 
of the war, and probably the majority was desirous of closing it in six 
months, after the offers of the British government for further negotiations, 
and the great disasters suffered by the army on the borders of Canada, 
the administration was supported, or certainly not opposed by any disorderly 
or violent acts. The power of the federal government proved adequate to 
the crisis ; but the people, in various parts of the nation, complained of 
the measures of the government, and censured its war policy ; and that no 
formidable opposition appeared, must be attributed to the patriotic feelings 
of the citizens, and to their conviction of the necessity of Order and obe- 
dience to all constitutional authority. With a population of a different 
character from that of the great majority of the people of the United 
States, and with the freedom they possessed, it would have been difficult 
to maintain a war, when so great a portion of the nation disapproved of it.* 

The invasion of Canada was renewed in the spring of 1813, and Gen- 
eral Dearborn, with a small army, crossed Lake Ontario, from Sackett's 
Harbor, and captured York (now Toronto), in Upper Canada. Gen- 
eral Dearborn afterward made another expedition into Canada, with a large 
body of troops, and took possession of Fort George, at the entrance of the 
Niagara river into Lake Ontario. The British retreated to Burlington 
heights, where they were followed by a detachment of American troops 
under Generals Chandler and Winder. But the latter were surprised by a 
night attack on their camp, and both of the generals captured, after which 
the detachment retreated toward Fort George. In the month of January 
previous. General Winchester, with about 800 men, fought a battle with 
the British and Indians, at the Maumee rapids, in Ohio, and, after the loss 
of about 300 men killed in the action, was forced to capitulate to General 
Proctor. The losses sustained by the United States troops in Canada and 
on the frontier, in 1812 and 1813, were estimated to amount to 8,500 men, 
in killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. In September, 181 3, the capture 
of the British fleet on Lake Erie, by the American fleet under Commo- 
dore Perry, was followed in October by the defeat of the British and In- 
dians imder General Proctor, on the banks of the river Thames, in Upper 
Canada, by the Americans under General Harrison. In this action Te- 
cumseh, a celebrated Indian chief, was killed, and this victory put an end 
to the Indian confederacy against the United States, which had been or- 
ganized by that chief. 

Many other engagements and military aflTairs of minor importance oc- 

• Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 195 

curred on the frontiers during the year 1813 ; and in the southern part of 
the United States a war with the Creek Indians was brouglit to a close, 
in consequence of repeated defeats of the Indians, by the Americans un- 
der General Andrew Jackson. The principal naval events were as fol- 
lows : The capture of the British brig Peacock by the American sloop- 
of-war Hornet, Captain Lawrence, on the 24th of February ; the loss of 
the United States frigate Chesapeake, which was taken by the British 
frigate Shannon, on the 18th of June, when Captain Lawrence, who had 
been promoted to the command of the Chesapeake, was killed, with many 
of his officers and men ; the capture, by the British brig Pelican of the 
American brig Argus, Captain Allen, on the 14th of August ; and in Sep- 
tember, the capture of the British brig Boxer by the American brig En- 
terprise, Lieutenant Burrows, who was killed in the action. 

In the meantime, the Atlantic coast of the United States was closely 
blockaded by British squadrons, cutting off most of the coasting trade, as 
well as a large share of the remnant of foreign commerce, and committing 
various depredations, particularly in Delaware and Chesapeake bays. But 
the naval efforts of Great Britain on the American seaboard, continued in- 
significant throughout the year 1813. At the same time, the American 
privateers were active and successful ; nor were the British squadrons 
enabled to put an entire stop to American commerce. Cotton and other 
staples of this country were exported in profitable adventures to France, 
Spain, and elsewhere, and the imports into the United States were larger 
in amount than might have been expected. Mr. Ingersoll says, that 
American commercial losses by war did not excessively surpass those 
which before its declaration were caused to American commerce by Eng- 
lish seizures and sequestrations, together with French unlawful depreda- 
tions. 

During the year 1813, the American frigates President, Captain Rodgers, 
the Congress, Captain Smith, the Essex, Captain Porter, and other ves- 
sels-of-war, made long and unmolested cruises, traversing the seas of va- 
rious quarters of the globe, and making many captures. The Essex pro- 
ceeded to the Pacific ocean, and in the course of a few months captured, 
manned, and armed, nine large English vessels, worth two millions of dol- 
lars. Captain Porter was for some time commodore of a fleet of his own 
creation. More than seven hundred British vessels were taken by the 
American navy and privateers, during the years 1812 and 1813. 

The second session of the 13th Congress began on the 6th of Decem- 
ber, 1813, and ended on the 18th of April, 1814. Mr. Clay, having been 
appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate a treaty of peace, resigned 
his station as speaker of the house, on the 19th of January, and Langdon 
Cheves, of South Carolina, was elected speaker in his place. Mr. Cheves 
received 94 votes, Mr. Grundy, of Tennessee, 59, and there were 12 scat- 
tering votes. It was understood that Mr. Cheves was preferred and voted 



196 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

for by the opposition members, and Mr. Grundy by a majority of the friends 
of the administration. 

Messrs. Clay and Russell were added to the commissioners to negoti- 
ate a treaty of peace, in January, 1814, and immediately sailed for Europe 
after their appointment. The commissioners were arranged by the presi- 
dent and senate in the following order : John Quincy Adams, James A. 
Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin. The four 
first-named were confirmed as commissioners to proceed to Gottenburg, in 
January, and Mr. Gallatin in February, 1814. Messrs. Adams, Gallatin, 
and Bayard, were in St. Petersburg in October and November, 1813; 

The first act of a general character passed at this session of Congress, 
was a law laying an embargo on all ships and vessels within the limits or 
jurisdiction of the United States, to continue till the first of January, 1815, 
unless a cessation of hostilities should take place sooner. The provisions 
of this act were very restrictive and severe, the principal object being to 
prevent small vessels and boats from supplying the British squadrons on 
the coast with provisions. It was repealed, however, on the 14th of 
April following, by the same Congress. 

The other acts of the session, besides those authorizing additional loans, 
related principally to the army and navy, and other matters connected with 
the prosecution of the war. Soldiers enlisting for five years, or during 
the war, were to receive a bounty of one hundred dollars each in advance, 
and twenty-four dollars more, in addition to their regular pay, when dis- 
charged from the service. Volunteer corps engaging to serve for five 
years or during the war, v/ere to receive the same bounty, pay, rations, 
clothing, and forage, as the regular army. Pensions were granted to the 
orphans and widows of persons slain in the public or private armed ves- 
sels of the United States. One hundred dollars were directed to be paid 
for each prisoner captured by American privateers and delivered to any 
agent authorized by the United States to receive prisoners-of-war, and two 
hundred thousand dollars were appropriated for that purpose. The presi- 
dent was authorized to cause the marine corps to be augmented, by enlist- 
ing about seven hundred additional men. An act for calling out the mili- 
tia, provided for the establishment of courts-martial of their own officers, 
for the trial of delinquents, in the manner required by the rules of the reg- 
ular army. This law was deemed severe, and created considerable alarm 
and dissatisfaction. 

During the year 1814, the war was prosecuted with vigor and zeal on 
both sides. The means for supporting it were augmented by the United 
Stales government, in every possible way, although the public credit was 
much depreciated, and treasury-notes fell as low as seventeen per cent., 
and the stock for the public loans to thirty per cent, below par. The 
British, particularly on the ocean, acted with more efficiency than in the 
two previous years. Tlieir ships-of-war hovered upon our coasts in all 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 197 

directions, sometimes entering harbors and landing bodies of men, who 
destroyed the property and excited the alarm of the inhabitants. They 
took possession of Eastport and Castine, in Maine, which was then under 
the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, and the want of a sufficient naval force 
prevented the Americans from dispossessing them. 

The peace of Paris, in 1814, released the British fleets and armies 
which had been so long employed in the wars of Europe, and left 
the English at liberty to direct their strength against the United States. 
Some of the veteran troops which had served in the campaigns under the 
duke of Wellington, were sent across the Atlantic. The armies in Can- 
ada were strengthened, and preparations were made to invade the United 
Stales from that quarter. 

The principal British force in Upper Canada was placed under the 
command of General Drummond, while the American army on the Niag- 
ara frontier was commanded by General Brown. Most of the older Amer- 
ican generals had retired from active service, and more efficient officers 
were now at the head of the troops. On the 3d of July, Generals Scott 
and Ripley, with 3,000 men, crossed the Niagara river and took Fort Erie, 
opposite Buffalo. On the 5th, the Americans under those two generals 
met the British army under General Riall, when a severe battle took place, 
in which the British were defeated, with the loss of about 500 men, while 
the total American loss was 338. On the 25th of July the most sangui- 
nary and obstinate battle that occurred during the war was fought at 
Bridgewater, or Lundy's Lane, near Niagara falls, General Brown com- 
manding the American forces, assisted by Generals Scott and Ripley. The 
American troops on this occasion numbered less than 4,000, while the 
British were about 5,000, and their loss was 878 men. The Americans 
lost 858, and were left in quiet possession of the field ; they then retired 
to Fort Erie, and, Generals Brown and Scott having been wounded, Gen- 
eral Gaines arrived and took the command. On the 15th of August, the 
English, under General Drummond, made an assault upon the fort, but 
were repulsed with the loss of nearly a thousand men. General Brown 
having resumed the command, a successful sortie was made from the fort 
on the 17th of September, soon after which the British, having again lost 
about 1,000 men in the last affair, retired to Fort George, in expectation 
of an attack on that place, from another American army. In November 
Fort Erie was abandoned and destroyed, and the American troops cros- 
sing the river, went into winter quarters at Buffalo and its vicinity. 

Meanwhile the English had concentrated an army of over 14,000 men, 
in Lower Canada, under the command of Sir George Prevost, for the pur- 
pose of invading the United States by way of Lake Champlain. The 
Americans had an army at Plattsburgh, on that lake, commanded by Gen- 
eral Macomb. They had also a fleet on the lake, of four armed vessels 
and ten gunboats and galleys, under the command of Commodore Macdo- 



198 ADMINISTRATION^ OF MADISON. 

nough. The Britisli fleet, under Commodore Dovvnie, consisted of four 
armed vessels and thirteen gunboats. The British army arrived before 
Plattsburgh on the 6th of September, and on tlie 11th a simultaneous at- 
tack was made by land and water, on the American forces. After an 
action of two hours, the guns of the enemy's squadron were silenced, the 
larger vessels were captured, three of the gunboats were sunk, and the 
others escaped down the lake. The battle on the land continued during 
the day, but after being repulsed three times, in attempting to storm the 
American works, and witnessing the capture of their fleet, the English 
retreated about dusk. Their loss in killed, wounded, taken, and desert- 
ers, was about 2,500 men. 

On the Atlantic coast various events of interest occurred during the 
year. Among the most important were the affairs on the borders of the 
Chesapeake bay and the Potomac river. On the 19th of August, a British 
army of 5,000 men, under General Ross, landed on the Patuxent and com- 
menced a march toward Washington city. The American flotilla under 
Commodore Barney was abandoned and burnt. Advancing by the way 
of Bladensburg, the British army was met by a small body of seamen and 
marines, but the latter were soon overpowered, and the commodore taken 
prisoner. The enemy then proceeded to Washington, and on the 24th 
burnt the capitol, the president's house, and other public buildings, after 
which they retreated to their ships. There were a few regular troops, 
under General Winder, and some militia regiments, in the vicinity of 
Washington, but they made but a feeble resistance to the British army, 
and soon fled. The president, and the secretaries of state, war, and the 
navy, were in the camp, and narrowly escaped capture, by a timely 
flight. 

A British squadron had in the meantime ascended the Potomac, and on 
the 29th appeared before Alexandria, and as that city was destitute of any 
means of defence, the inhabitants were compelled to ransom the place by 
giving up to the enemy the merchandise on sale in the city, and the ship- 
ping at the wharves. 

General Ross, after his return to the British fleet with his troops, re- 
solved to lead them to an attack upon Baltimore. But the citizens of that 
place made extensive preparations for a defence, and the militia of the city 
and vicinity, forming an army of 15,000 men, were placed under arms, to 
meet the enemy. The British fleet passed up the Patapsco and bombarded 
Fort M'Henry, and the army was landed at North point, fourteen miles 
below Baltimore. Being repulsed in their attack upon Fort M'Henry, and 
having lost their commander, General Ross, who was killed in a skirmish 
with a part of the American troops, the British retired to their ships, on 
the 14th of September, and soon after left the Chesapeake. 

On the coasts of New England, British squadrons were constantly kept 
up ; and fleets were also stationed off the hnvhor of New-Ynrk, a.!!id ia 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 199 

Delaware bay. The port of Stonington, in Connecticut, was bombarded 
in August, but the militia being assembled in great numbers for defence, 
no landing was effected in that quarter by the British troops. During the 
summer, that part of Maine which lies east of the Penobscot river was 
occupied by the enemy, and the United States frigate Adams and many 
merchant vessels lying in the Penobscot river, and others, were destroyed 
or fell into their hands. 

The blockade of the harbors kept a considerable part of the American 
navy from opportunities of adventuring at sea, but several of the national 
ships-of-war, and numerous privateers, were still able to elude the vigi- 
lance of the enemy and to keep the seas. The actions fought by vessels 
of the navy and by privateers, were highly creditable to American valor 
and nautical skill, although sometimes overpowered by superior force. On 
the 28th of March the frigate Essex was taken in the harbor of Valparai- 
so, on the Pacific ocean, after a desperate action, by two British vessels, 
the frigate Phoebe and the Cherub sloop-of-war. The other actions of 
note this year by the na^y, were the capture of the British sloop-of-war 
Epervier, in the gulf of Mexico, by the new United States sloop-of-war 
Peacock, and the sloop-of-war Wasp, Captain Blakeley, captured in suc- 
cession, in the English channel, the Reindeer and Avon, two vessels of 
similar force with herself. She also made prizes of numerous British 
merchant vessels. 

The United States frigate President, Commodore Decatur, on sailing 
from the port of New York, in January, 1815, was captured by a British fleet ; 
but the two last naval actions of the war were favorable to the Americans. 
In February, 1815, the frigate Constitution captured at the same time two 
vessels-of-war, the Cyane and Levant, off the island of Madeira, and in 
March the United States sloop-of-war Hornet captured the brig Penguin, 
off the coast of Brazil. 

The last important action of the war was the battle of New Orleans, 
on the 8th of January, 1815, when General Jackson, with 6,000 men, de- 
feated a British army of 12,000 men under General Packenham. The 
loss of the British on that occasion was 700 killed and 1,000 wounded; 
among the former was the commander-in-chief ; and the next in command, 
Generals Gibbs and Keene, were severely wounded. The loss of the 
Americans was only seven killed and six wounded. The British army 
withdrew after the action, and retreated to their shipping. 

The celebrated Hartford convention was held at the close of the year 
1814. The cause and circumstances of that affair were in substance as 
follows, as stated by the secretary of the convention : — 

The situation of the New England states during the year 1814, was in 
the highest degree critical and dangerous. The services of the militia 
for two years, had been extremely severe ; they were constantly taken 
from their farms and their ordinary occupations, and in addition to all the 



200 Ar)MI^•ISTRATION OF MADISON. 

losses wliicli such a state of things must necessarily produce, they were 
subjected to the hardships and hazards of a camp, and the life of a soldier. 
In the meantime the United States had withheld all supplies for the main- 
tenance of the militia for the year 1814, both in Massachusetts and Con- 
necticut, and thus forced upon the states the burden of supporting the 
troops employed in defending their coasts from invasion, and their towns' 
from being sacked and pillaged. And all this time the taxes laid to carry 
on the war were exacted from those states with the most rigorous prompt- 
ness. It had become apparent, that if the New England states were res- 
cued from the effects of these calamities at all, it must depend, ag, far as 
human means were concerned, upon their own exertions. 

In Massachusetts the danger to which the inhabitants near the seacoast 
were exposed, had spread an alarm through the commonwealth. Early 
in the year 1814, memorials from a great number of towns, from the inte- 
rior as well as near the coast, were forwarded to the legislature, praying 
that body to exert their authority to protect the citizens in their constitu- 
tional rights and privileges, and suggesting the expediency of appointing 
delegates " to meet delegates from such other states as might think proper 
to appoint them, for the purpose of devising proper measures to procin-e 
the united efforts of the commercial states, to obtain such amendments 
and explanations of the constitution as will secure them from further evils." 
These memorials were referred to a joint committee of the senate and 
house of representatives in Massachusetts, who, although approving of the 
sentiments of the memorials, reported against the expediency of the pro- 
posed convention at that time. The legislature adopted this report in Feb- 
ruary, 1814, but in October following, resolutions in favor of the conven- 
tion were adopted, by large majorities, and twelve delegates were ap- 
pointed, by a vote of 226 to 67, in a convention of both houses of the 
legislature. 

A circular was addressed to the executive magistrates of the other 
states, to be laid before their respective legislatures, inviting them to ap- 
point delegates to the proposed convention, if they should deem it expedi- 
ent, and stating the objects of the conference to be to deliberate upon the 
dangers to which the eastern section was exposed by the course of the 
war, and to devise, if practicable, means of security and defence which 
might be consistent with the preservation of their resources from total 
ruin, and not repugnant to their obligations as members of the Union. It 
was proposed also, that the convention should deliberate on the subject of 
amending the constitution of the United States, or of calling a national 
convention of all the states to effect such amendments as might secure to 
them equal advantage. 

The legislatures of Connecticut and Rhode Island responded to the call, 
at their October sessions, and appointed delegates, the former seven, the 
latter four, to meet at Hartford on the 15th of December, 1814. The con- 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 201 

vention assembled at the time appointed, and consisted of twenty-six dele- 
gates, of whom three were appointed by local conventions in New Hamp- 
shire and Vermont. The proceedings took place with closed doors, but 
the journal was afterward made public. The convention embodied their 
views in a report, which was immediately published and extensively cir- 
culated. It was a statement of grievances, many of which were real, but 
which necessarily arose out of a state of war, a recommendation of sev- 
eral amendments to the constitution, and, if circum.stances required, a sug- 
gestion of another convention, to be held at Boston in June, 1815. As 
the news of peace arrived soon after the convention adjourned, the causes 
of disquiet were removed ; but as the delegates were all of the federal 
party, the convention, before and after their meeting, was denounced in the 
severest terms, by the friends of the administration, as being treasonable 
to the general government, and the name of the " Hartford convention" 
became with the democratic party a term of reproach. 

Congress had been adjourned to meet on the last Monday of October, 
but was convened on the 19th of September, 1814, by a special call of the 
president, and continued in session until the expiration of their term, on 
the 3d of March, 1815. The great changes in Europe, and the aspect of 
affairs in the United States, rendered an early meeting of Congress very 
important. At an e^rly day in the session the president laid before Con- 
gress the instructions which had been given the American commissioners 
appointed to negotiate a treaty of peace, and the correspondence which 
had taken place on the subject. The commissioners had assembled at 
Ghent in the month of August, 1814 ; those appointed by the government of 
Great Britain, were Lord Gambler, Mr. H. Goulburn, and Mr. Wm. Adams. 

By the documents submitted to Congress, it appeared that new terms 
were proposed, and authority given the American envoys to make peace, 
without insisting on all the claims and principles before advanced. The 
spirit and tone of the president's message at this time, were very different 
from his former communications to Congress. A desire for peace was 
strongly expressed, and a disposition fidly manifested to represent the 
views of the British cabinet as less hostile than had been formerly stated. 
He remarked, that " the repeal of the orders in council, and the general 
pacification in Europe, which withdrew the occasion on which impress- 
ments on American vessels were practised, lead to an expectation that 
peace and amity may be established." 

In one of the earliest communications from the commissioners of the 
United States to those of Great Britain, when the negotiations opened at 
Ghent, and which was dated the 24th of August, 1814, it is said : " The 
causes of the war between the United States and Great Britain having 
disappeared, by the maritime pacification of Europe, the government of 
the United States does not desire to continue it in defence of abstract prin- 
ciples, which have, for the present, ceased to have any practical effect. 



202 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

The undersigned have been accordingly instructed to agree to its termina- 
tion, both parties restoring whatever they may have taken, and both resu- 
ming all their rights, in relation to their respective seamen." In the in- 
structions previously given to the commissioners, dated June 27, 1814, the 
secretary of state, Mr. Monroe said : " On mature consideration, it has 
been decided, that under all the circumstances above alluded to, incident 
to a prosecution of the war, you may omit any stipulation on the subject 
of impressment, if found indispensably necessary to terminate it." 

The British commissioners at Ghent, finding the American government 
anxious for peace, were at first extravagant in their demands, in the points 
stated as the basis of negotiation. The despatches from the American 
envoys which were published in October, 1814, gave but little hopes of 
peace, and the demands of the British government, as understood from 
their agents at Ghent, excited a feeling of general indignation throughout 
the Union. Not an individual in the United States, however decidedly 
he might originally have been opposed to the declaration of war, and to 
the policy and measures of the administration, could fail of rejecting such 
extravagant demands as the basis of a treaty of peace. Overlooking what 
had passed, there was a general determination to resist such a requisition, 
at every hazard. The demands of the British were, that the Indians 
should be included in the pacification, and a territory set apart for them, 
to remain as a permanent barrier between our western settlements and the 
adjacent British provinces ; and that the United States should thereafter 
keep no armed naval force on the western lakes, nor erect any fortified or 
military post or establishment on the shores of those lakes, nor maintain 
those which already existed. 

The negotiations between the British and American commissioners re- 
lated almost exclusively to subjects which had no connexion with the cau- 
ses of the war. The declaration of war was founded on the orders in 
council and impressment. The former were repealed within a week from 
the date of the declaration of war, leaving nothing to contend about but 
impressment ; and the secretary of state, in a letter to the commissioners 
dated August 11, 1814, said: "It is presumed that either in the mode 
suggested in my letter of the 25th of June (to refer the matter to a sepa- 
rate negotiation), which is much preferred, or by permitting the treaty to 
be silent on the subject, as is authorized in the letter of the 27th of June, 
the question of impressment may be so disposed of as to form no obstacle 
to a pacification." 

The new questions started by the British commissioners, it was seen, 
rendered the event of peace uncertain as to time, and preparations were 
made to continue the war with renewed vigor. Various acts of Congress 
were passed to increase the regular army, and to accept the service of 
state troops for local defence. The public debt having increased to a vast 
amount, it was found necessary, even with some probability of a speedy 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 203 

peace, to increase the taxes in various ways. A new direct tax of six 
millions was laid ; the rate of postage on letters by mail was increased 
fifty per cent. ; duties on sales at auction, on licenses to retail liquors, on 
distilled spirits, on pleasure carriages, on household furniture, and on 
watches, were increased ; and new duties laid on wares and merchandise 
manufactured in the United States. These measures were opposed with 
great earnestness in Congress, especially the bill for six millions of direct 
taxes. Complaints on this subject were everywhere heard among the 
people, and increased the general anxiety for peace. A bill was before 
Congress for several weeks, in November and December, for authorizing 
the president, on the refusal of the governor of any state to call out the 
militia when requested, to order subordinate militia officers immediately to 
march their men as might be directed by the officers of the regular 
army. It was approved by a majority in the house, but was lost in the 
senate, after a long debate, by a single vote. The objection to the bill 
was, that it was in violation of the rights of the militia, and wholly unau- 
thorized by the constitution. One section of the bill also provided for 
draughting the militia, when they did not voluntarily enlist. The most 
powerful argument against it, was its direct interference with the privi- 
leges of the citizens enrolled in the militia, who were recognised to be so, 
even by the federal constitution.* 

Mr. Monroe, then acting secretary of war, made a report, on the 17th 
of October, on the subject of filling the ranks of the army, in which he 
expressed the opinion that it would be necessary to bring into the field, at 
the next campaign, not less than 100,000 regular troops ; to provide for 
which he proposed that the free male population of the United States be 
formed into classes of one hundred men each, and each class to furnish 
a certain number of men for the war, and replace them in the event of cas- 
ualty, or if any class proved delinquent, the men to be raised by draught 
on the whole class. The bounty in money allowed to each recruit to be 
p9,id to each draught by all the inhabitants within the precinct of the class 
within which the draught may be made, equally according to property pos- 
sessed. 

This plan was considered a conscription, intended to be equally effica- 
cious with the conscription established in France by Bonaparte. It was 
opposed as unconstitutional, oppressive, and absurd, and when modified 
and introduced in the senate, by Mr. Giles, in the form of a bill for rais- 
ing eighty thousand men, after a long debate, and great eftbrts by the 
friends of the administration, the measure could not be carried through 
Congress, and of course failed. 

The secretary of the navy also made a report at the same session, rec- 
ommending a register and classification of the seamen of the United 
States, for the purpose of calling them into the public service in succession, 

• Bradford. 



204 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

as occasion might require ; in other words, to establish by law what even 
in Great Britain has never had any higher sanction than that of practice, 
viz., a system of impressment. 

At the same time that plans of conscription and impressment were thus 
recommended, a bill was introduced into the^senate, making further pro- 
visions for filling the ranks of the army, which authorized recruiting offi- 
cers to enlist any free effective able-bodied men, between the age of 
eighteen and fifty years, and repealed so much of former acts as required 
the consent in writing of the parent, master, or guardian, to authorize the 
enlistment of persons under twenty-one years of age. This measure ex- 
cited great alarm and much feeling in many parts of the country. It was 
considered as aiming a direct blow at the legislative prerogatives of the 
several states, as, by the laws of the states, parents have an absolute right 
to the services of their children while they are minors, and the constitu- 
tion contains no authority for Congress to interfere in the private concerns 
of individuals under the jurisdiction of the several states. The legisla- 
ture of Connecticut being in session when these plans of conscription and 
enlisting minors were proposed, passed resolutions, nearly unanimously, 
expressive of their determination to resist them, if adopted by Congress 
in the form of a law. Fortunately these measures, which were justified 
by the friends of the administration on the ground that the public exigency 
required their adoption, were rendered unnecessary by the change of cir- 
cumstances produced by the return of peace. 

Several changes in the cabinet and other principal officers of gov- 
ernment, took place in 1814 and 1815. The office of secretary of the 
treasury being declared vacant by the senate, in consequence of the ab- 
sence of Mr. Gallatin, as one of the commissioners to negotiate a treaty 
of peace, George W. Campbell, of Tennessee, was appointed secretary 
of that department, on the 9th of February, 1814. Ill health compelled 
Mr. Campbell to resign in September, and Alexander J. Dallas was ap- 
pointed secretary of the treasury, October 6, 1814. General Armstrong 
resigned as secretary of war, in September, 1814, and Mr. Monroe, secre- 
tary of state, acted as secretary of war until February 28, 1815, when he 
was recommissioned as secretary of state. William H. Crawford, who had 
been appointed minister to France on the 9th of April, 1813, on his return 
from that mission was appointed secretary of war, August 1, 1815. On 
the 19th of December, 1814, Benjamin W. Crowninshield, of Massachu- 
setts, was appointed secretary of the navy, in place of William Jones, re- 
signed. Gideon Granger, who had held the office of postmaster-general 
more than twelve years, was removed by Mr. Madison, and Return Jona- 
than Meigs (governor of Ohio), appointed in his place, on the 17th of 
March, 1814. Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, was appointed attorney- 
general, in place of William Pinkney, resigned, February 10, 1814. Jon- 
athan Russell was nominated as minister to Sweden, and, after some de- 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 205 

lay, confirmed by the senate on the 18th of January, 1814 ; at the same 
time he was confirmed as one of the commissioners to negotiate a treaty 
of peace with Great Britain. Some of these changes, and those for- 
merly noticed, during the administration of Mr. Madison, occurred in con- 
sequence of dissensions and dissatisfaction among the leaders of the dem- 
ocratic party, in Congress and in the cabinet. Mr. Ingersoll says : " Mad- 
ison was thwarted by a jealous senate. In May, 1813, when he nomina- 
ted Jonathan Russell as minister to Sweden, the appointment was nega- 
tived by the senate on frivolous pretences largely set forth in publications 
on the subject by William B. Giles, one of the Virginia senators. In No- 
vember of that year, Mr. De Kantzow arrived at Washington, and then at 
last Mr. Russell was suff'ered to pass the senate. The postmaster-gen- 
eral. Granger, was so inimical to Madison, that he found it necessary, in 
1814, to remove him from office. The war of 1812, especially as re- 
spected the appointing power of the executive, both at home and for 
foreign service, was much embarrassed and annoyed by members of 
the war party, whose constituent states supported Madison's administra- 
tion." 

While Congress was passing acts for the vigorous prosecution of the 
war, the unexpected and welcome intelligence of peace was received at 
Washington, early in February, 1815. A treaty of peace between the 
United States and Great Britain was concluded by the commissioners, at 
Ghent, on the 24th of December, 1814, and, as soon as communicated by 
the president, Avas ratified by the senate. It was the occasion of sincere 
and universal rejoicing, with the exception, perhaps, of contractors, office- 
holders, and others, who were making great gains by the war, and of 
course Avere interested in its continuance. To the administration it was 
an inexpressible relief; for difficulties and embarrassments had been 
long gathering and thickening around it. And the people were happy to 
learn the restoration of peace, the revival of commercial enterprise, and 
the prospect of a diminution of taxes in future. • On the subject of impress- 
ment the treaty was silent, and commercial regulations between England 
and America were referred to negotiations proposed to be resumed at an 
early day. 

A convention was held in London, as proposed at Ghent, early in 1815, 
to form a commercial treaty. The American commissioners were Messrs, 
Adams, Gallatin, and Clay ; and a treaty was prepared by them and three 
commissioners on the part of Great Britain, in July, which was soon after 
ratified by both the contracting parties, to continue for four years. This 
convention was strictly and almost exclusively of a commercial character ; 
the subject of impressments and of blockades not being noticed by it. And 
it purported to place the commercial intercourse between the two coun- 
tries on a perfect reciprocity. In the opinion of most commercial men, 
the terms of this convention were not more favorable to the maritime rights 



206 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

and interests of the United States, than those of the treaty made in 1794, 
by Mr. Jay ; or that signed by the American envoys, Monroe and Pinkney, 
in 1807, which was rejected by President Jefferson without submitting it 
to the senate.* 

Ahhough the immediate effect of the war was in many respects disas- 
trous to tiie interests of the great body of the people, causing much pecu- 
niary and other distress, and the loss of thousands of valuable lives ; also 
retarding the national prosperity ; yet it was not without its advantages, 
in the salutary resuUs which flowed from the circumstances of this great 
national event. The restrictive measures of Mr. Jefferson's administra- 
tion, the reduction of the army and navy, as recommended by that pres- 
ident, and the submission of the United States to the long-continued 
wrongs and insults of France and Great Britain, had excited throughout 
Europe a contempt for the American character. There existed a general 
impression among civilized nations, that the spirit of liberty and independ- 
ence which had carried America triumphantly through the war of the rev- 
olution, was extinguished by a love of gain and commercial enterprise, 
without courage and resolution sufficient to sustain the national rights. 
But the war with England dissipated this impression, and inspired respect 
for a nation that gave so many proofs of ability to cope with the mistress 
of the seas on her favorite element. The national character, therefore, 
rose to an eminence in the estimation of foreigners which has ever since 
been maintained. From the era of the war we may date the origin, or 
the more rapid growth, of the principal branches of domestic manufactures. 
Another advantage which accrued from the war, was the impulse given to 
the spirit of internal improvement, which was forcibly impressed upon the 
minds of the people from witnessing the disadvantages of the imperfect 
modes of transportation in existence during that period, before a system 
of canals, railroads, and other improvements, was in operation. The pol- 
icy of a standing army and of a navy, adequate to the national defence, 
has likewise been cherished by the people since the importance of both 
was proved during the war. 

In consequence of the deranged state of the currency and the public 
credit, the secretary of the treasury, in October, 1814, recommended to 
Congress the establishment of a national bank. A bill to that effect was 
accordingly introduced, and passed both houses in January, but was vetoed 
by the president. 

On the 23d of November, 1814, the vice-president of the United States, 
Elbridge Gerry, died suddenly, while on his way to the capitol in his car- 
riage, having the day before presided in the senate during the whole of a 
long debate. John Gaillard, of South Carolina, was appointed president 
of the senate pro tempore. 

The time which remained of the session after the news of peace was 

• Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 207 

received, being less than three weeks, was occupied by Congress in 
adapting the affairs of the government and country to a condition of peace. 
The army was reduced to a peace establishment of ten thousand men, and 
various acts concerning the acceptance of the services of volunteers and 
state troops, the flotilla service, and non-intercourse, were repealed. The 
naval establishment, however, was kept up, and an act passed for the pro- 
tection of American commerce against Algerine cruisers, by authorizing 
the president to send a squadron to the Mediterranean. Direct taxes 
were continued, and one hundred thousand dollars was appropriated for 
the Cumberland road. A resolution was passed requesting the president to 
recommend a day of thanksgiving for the blessing of peace. 

The total expenditures by the United States government during the war, 
may be stated, in round numbers, at one hundred millions of dollars ; and 
the loss of lives by battles and other casualties incident to the war, has 
been estimated at thirty thousand persons. The cost of the war and loss 
of life by the British nation, were much greater. But the greatest dispar- 
ity in the contest between the two nations was shown in its eflects on the 
ocean. During the short period of less than three years which the war 
lasted, the Americans captured, on the ocean and lakes, 56 British ves- 
sels-of-war, mounting 886 cannon ; and 2,360 merchant-vessels, mount- 
ing 8,000 guns ; of which 345 were ships, 610 brigs, 520 schooners, 135 
sloops, and 750 vessels of various classes taken by the Americans and re- 
captured by the enemy; making altogether 2,416 vessels, with their car- 
goes, specie, stores, provisions, and equipments, and about thirty thousand 
prisoners-of-war. Most of these prizes were taken by American priva- 
teers, and many of the vessels which could not be brought into port were 
either burnt or sunk. The number of merchant-vessels which arrived in 
port or were destroyed, was 1610. Besides this destruction and capture 
of British property, there were lost by wreck or otherwise, on the Ameri- 
can coast, during the war, twenty-nine British ships-of-war, mounting about 
800 guns. The American naval losses by British capture were three frig- 
ates, viz., the Chesapeake, Essex, and President, two sloops-of-war, six 
brigs, and fourteen smaller vessels and gunboats, amounting in all to no more 
than twenty-five vessels-of-war, carrying a total of 350 guns ; while the 
number of American privateers and merchant-vessels captured by the Eng- 
lish, although large, was much less than the British loss of similar ves- 
sels already stated. The statement of British captures of American ves- 
sels, reported by the admiralty office to the house of commons, on the 1st 
of February, 1815, gives a total of 1,407 merchant-vessels taken or de- 
stroyed, exclusive of captures by British privateers, and 20,961 American 
seamen prisoners-of-war.* The Americans lost during the war, in addi- 
tion to the above vessels belonging to the navy, the frigate Adams, in Pe- 
nobscot river, and a new frigate and brig at Washington city, which were 
* Giles's Register, vol. ix., p. 325. 



208 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

destroyed to prevent theip from falling into the enemy's hands. The new 
sloop-of-war Wasp was lost at sea sometime after capturing the British 
sloops-of-war Reindeer and Avon, in different actions. 

In May, 1815, a squadron of nine vessels of the American navy, under 
Commodore Decatur, sailed for the Mediterranean, for the purpose of pun- 
ishing the Algerines for their depredations on American commerce ; that 
piratical nation having taken advantage of the war with Great Britain to 
plunder American vessels, and condemn their crews to slavery, notwith- 
standing the annual tribute of 23,000 dollars which had been paid their 
government by the United States, for the preservation of peace, from 1795 
to 1812. On the 17th of June the new frigate Guerriere, commanded by 
Commodore Decatur, fell in with and captured the Algerine frigate Magou- 
da, of 46 guns, after a running fight of twenty minutes, killing 30 men, 
among whom was the admiral of the fleet, and taking mqre than 400 pris- 
oners. A piratical brig of 22 guns, with 180 men, was afterward taken, 
by other vessels of the United States squadron. The American fleet soon 
appeared before Algiers, when the Algerine vessels-of-war were at sea, 
and Commodore Decatur dictated such terms as he pleased to the dey, 
who, on the 30th of June, concluded a treaty with the United States. 
The terms were of course honorable to the Americans. No tribute was 
in future to be paid by the United States ; all American captives were to 
be released without ransom, and compensation was made for such vessels 
and property as had been taken. 

The fourteenth Congress held their first session at Washington, from 
the 4th of December, 1815, to the 30th of April, 1816. The state of par- 
ties was similar to that of the thirteenth Congress, the democratic major- 
ity in the house being slightly increased, and amounting to about fifty over 
the federalists. Most of the members had been elected during the war, 
and the old party distinctions were not long kept up after this period. Mr. 
Clay, having returned from negotiating the treaty of peace at Ghent, was 
again returned to the house of representatives by his former constituents 
of Kentucky, and for the second time he was elected speaker. He re- 
ceived 87 votes, against 32 for other candidates, of which only 10 were 
given for federalists, although 65 of that party had been elected to the 
house. This showed that the return of peace had removed any induce- 
ment to an organized opposition to the administration. Mr. Gaillard was 
again elected president of the senate pro tern. 

At this session, after an able debate on the subject of the direct tax 
imposed during the war, in Avhich Mr, Clay, the speaker, Mr. Calhoun, 
Mr. Hopkinson, and other members participated, and in which the whole 
policy of the war and the conditions of peace were reviewed, a reduction 
of a portion of the taxes and duties of various kinds was made. The ad- 
ditional rates of postage were abolished, and new rates established ; the 
duties on dom'estic manufactures, on gold, silver, jewelry, and distilled 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 209 

spirits, were also abolished or reduced. The direct tax was fixed at three 
millions, instead of six millions required by a former law. A new tariff 
of duties on importations was laid, in which the intention was expressed 
by Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Clay, Mr. Lowndes, and others, to establish a system 
of protection for American manufactures. The rates fixed were, however, 
insufficient for that object with regard to many manufactures which had 
been built up during the war, and were soon prostrated in consequence 
of the excessive importations of foreign manufactures which took place 
after the return of peace. 

Acts were also passed at this session for the gradual increase of the 
navy ; for regulating the rates of foreign coins, and the currency of the 
United States ; for building lighthouses ; authorizing the surveying and 
making a road in Illinois territory ; increasing the pay of customhouse 
officers fifty per cent. ; and fixing the pay of members of Congress at 
fifteen hundred dollars per annum, in lieu of the allowance per diem, as 
formerly established ; but this last law proved to be very unpopular, and 
was repealed at the next session. 

A national bank was incorporated by Congress in April, 1816, with a 
capital of thirty-five millions of dollars, to continue for twenty years. Al- 
though the president had returned with his veto a bill incorporating a bank, 
passed by the thirteenth Congress, from objections to some of the clauses, 
He was anxious for the establishment of such an institution ; both he and 
Mr. Clay, the speaker, with others, having changed their views from the 
experience of the government, during the recent war, which had evinced 
the want of a national currency. The bill now passed encountered a 
strong opposition, but received the support of a majority of the democratic 
party in both houses of Congress, with a portion of the federalists, and it 
was promptly signed by the president. 

The annual sum of two hundred'thousand dollars was appropriated for 
providing arms and military equipments for the militia ; acts for the relief 
of purchasers and settlers on the public lands were also passed, and those 
of the latter who had not paid for the lands were enabled to obtain titles 
on payment of a small sum, and causing the same to be registered in the 
public land office. A system of drawbacks on sugar refined, and spirits 
distilled from molasses, was adopted ; and an important resolution was 
passed directing the secretary of the treasury to take measures to cause 
the revenue to be collected and paid in the legal currency of the United 
States, or treasury-notes, or notes of the new national bank, or in notes of 
specie-paying banks. The people of Indiana territory were authorized to 
form a constitution and state government, preparatory to being admitted 
into the Union. An act passed on the 1st of March, J 81 6, to give effect 
to the convention for regulating commerce with England, and repealed all 
former acts discriminating in favor of goods imported in American vessels 
over British vessels. An attempt was made in the house to alter the term 
14 



210 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

of the treaty which had been ratified by the senate, but finally, after a 
long debate, the house yielded, and passed the bill on the subject which 
had been adopted by the senate. 

The relations of the United States with Spain were again brought under 
discussion in 1816. The Spanish minister at Washington, as instructed, 
remonstrated against the claims and occupancy of West Florida by the 
United States. It was claimed by our government as a part of Louisia- 
na, and five years before they had taken possession of part of the disputed 
territory, but on the united remonstrance of Spain and France, the Amer- 
ican troops were withdrawn. T^ie government of the United States never 
gave up its claim, and had again occupied a portion of the territory by an 
armed force. The Spanish minister insisted that this occupancy should 
be no longer held until negotiations could be had. He also demanded 
that no intercourse should be allowed between the United States and 
Mexico, which province was then in a state of revolt. The secretary of 
state, Mr. Monroe, in reply to the Spanish minister, did not directly im- 
pugn the claim of Spain to West Florida, but represented that as it was 
now separated from the Mexican territory, it was of but little advantage to 
the Spanish nation, and an exchange of Florida for a part of Louisiana bor- 
dering on Texas was suggested. The minister was informed that the Uni- 
ted States would preserve a strict neutrality between Spain and her re- 
volted colonies. The question of the boundary of Louisiana was also 
discussed, but no definite result was arrived at by this correspondence, and 
a settlement with Spain was reserved for the next administration. 

The democratic members of the fourteenth Congress, before the ad- 
journment of the first session, held a caucus for the nomination of a can- 
didate for president, as successor to Mr. Madison, also for vice-president. 
An attempt was made in the caucus to declare such nomination by mem- 
bers of Congress inexpedient, but it was unsuccessful. It was understood 
that Mr. Madison and his confidential friends preferred Mr. Monroe to 
any other candidate to succeed him. Several plans and intrigues were set 
on foot to defeat this nomination, particularly by those republicans who 
were opposed to Virginia influence, which state had already given presi- 
dents to the Union for twenty-four out of the twenty-eight years during 
the existence of the government. 

Colonel Aaron Burr, who then resided in New York, wrote to his son- 
in-law, Joseph Alston, ex-governor of South Carolina, on the 20th of No- 
vember, 1815, informing him that a congressional caucus would soon nom- 
inate James Monroe for president of the United States. After denouncing 
Mr. Monroe as an improper and incompetent candidate, the manner of the 
nomination as equally exceptionable, and the Virginia domination as odi- 
ous. Colonel Burr urges upon Governor Alston to take measures to break 
down the system, by " a respectable nomination of General Andrew Jack- 
son, before the proclamation of the Virginia caucus, and Jackson's success," 



ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 211 

he adds, " is inevitable." Governor Alston fully coincided with Colonel 
Burr in sentiment, but ill health, and grief from family afflictions, prevented 
his attention to the suggestion. 

Governor Tompkins, of New York, had rendered important services and 
support to the administration and the country during the war. When. Mr. 
Monroe was called to act as secretary of war, in place of General Arm- 
strong, Mr. Madison proposed to Governor Tompkins that Monroe should 
vacate the office of secretary of state, and that he (Tompkins) should be 
placed at the head of that department. Although Governor Tompkins felt 
it his duty to decline the office, alleging as a reason, that he could render 
more service to the nation as governor of New York, than as a member of 
the cabinet, he considered that, according to the precedent which had been 
established, this offer was a commitment on the part of the administration 
to support him for the next president. The democratic members of the 
legislature of New York, in February, 1816, instructed their members in 
Congress to sustain the claims of Tompkins, but it was soon ascertained 
by those members of Congress that his nomination could not be effected. 

The opposition to Mr. Monroe's nomination was finally concentrated on 
William H. Crawford, of Georgia, He was a native of Virginia, but in 
early life had emigrated to Georgia, which state he ably represented in the 
senate, from 1807 to 1813. Although attached to the democratic party, he 
advocated the recharter of the first bank of the United States, in 1810, and 
afterward became dissatisfied with what he deemed the indecisive course 
of Mr. Madison with regard to the difficulties with Great Britain. He voted 
for the declaration of war, and during the war he was appointed minister to 
France ; on his return thence, he took charge of the war department, as 
secretary. His friends claimed for him the character of a man of superior 
intellect and talents, strictly honorable in his political course, and posses- 
sing much independence and decision as a statesman. 

Every effort having been made by the friends of the two candidates to 
secure the nomination, the congressional caucus was held on the 16th of 
March, 1816, and on the ballot for a candidate for president, James Monroe 
received 65 votes, and William H. Crawford 54 ; consequently James Mon- 
roe was nominated for president. Daniel D. Tompkins received the nomi- 
nation for vice-president, by 85 votes, against 30 for Simon Snyder, gov- 
ernor of Pennsylvania. 

When the election came on, toward the close of the year 1816, Monroe 
and Tompkins received 183 electoral votes for president and vice-presi- 
dent, and 34 electoral votes were given by the federal party to Riifus 
King for president, and to several persons for vice-president. 

The views of Mr. Madison on subjects of national policy, as developed 
in his last annual message to Congress, which met on the 2d of Decem- 
ber, 1816, and continued until the close of his administration, were con- 
sidered liberal and important to the interests of the country. 



212 ADMINISTRATION OF MADISON. 

The most important acts passed at this second session of the fourteenth. 
Congress, were as follows • — 

An act was passed to provide for paying off the national debt, which at 
this time exceeded one hundred and twenty millions of dollars, by annual 
instalments of ten millions. Mr. Lowndes, one of the most able statesmen 
of South Carolina, and chairman of the committee of ways and means in 
the house, was the author of this measure, under the operations of which 
the national debt was finally extinguished. A law was enacted author- 
izing the secretary of the navy, under the direction of the president, to 
cause a survey of those public lands which produced live oak and red ce- 
dar timber, to be reserved and appropriated for the use of the navy. The 
navigation laws were revised, so as to give further advantages to vessels 
of the United States, and no goods or merchandise were allowed to be im- 
ported from foreign ports except in American bottoms, or in such foreign 
vessels as belonged to the country of which the goods were the subject or 
manufacture. Acts were also passed for the regulation of territories of the 
United States, by which each of them was allowed to send one delegate 
to Congress, who should have a right to take part in debate in the house 
of representatives, but not of voting ; for establishing a separate territory 
by the name of Alabama ; to preserve more effectually the neutral relations 
of the United States ; to fix the peace establishment of the marine corps 
at eight hundred men, including officers ; providing for the location of the 
lands reserved for the Creek Indians ; for the punishment of crimes and 
offences committed within the Indian boundaries ; and for the relief of 
persons imprisoned for debts due to the United States. The state of Indi- 
ana having formed a constitution, in conformity to act of Congress, was by 
joint resolution admitted into the Union on the 11th of December, 1816. 
The people of the western part of Mississippi territory were authorized 
to form a constitution, preparatory to admission into the Union as a state. 

A bill appropriating the bonus which the United States bank was to pay 
the government for their charter, to purposes of internal improvement, was 
passed by both houses, at this session, after an able and full discussion of 
the constitutionality and expediency of a system of internal improvements 
by the general government ; but was returned to Congress by the presi- 
dent, with his objections, which involved constitutional scruples, and con- 
sequently the measure failed to become a law. 

The administration of President Madison terminated on the 3d of 
March, 1817, and he surrendered the affairs of the government into the 
hands of his friend and associate, Mr. Monroe, with the satisfaction of 
having seen the nation pass honorably through the trying scenes of a por- 
tion of the time while he had been at the head of the republic ; and that 
he could now retire from the cares of office at a time of general peace 
and prosperity, with the prospect for his country of a bright and glorious 
career in her destiny as a great and independent nation. 




'STi^fiyTB&lcl.from .iPauLftuJiy Stuart 



^^s^^m/ljy^ />^^7->^^^>^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



JAMES MONROE. 



The family of Monroe is one of the most ancient and honorable among 
the early settlers of Virginia. It is remarkable that the tide water section 
of that state has produced four of the first five presidents of the United 
States ; Washington, Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, having been born in 
that part of Virginia, and within a few miles of each other. The same sec- 
tion of country, it may be added, was honored also as the birthplace of 
the biographer of Washington, who for many years was the ornament of 
the supreme court of the United States — Chief- Justice Marshall. 

The fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, was born on 
the 2d of April, 1759, in the county oC Westmoreland, Virginia. His pa- 
rents were Spence Monroe and Elizabeth Jones, both members of old and 
highly respectable families in the ancient dominion. His early youth was 
passed in the midst of that exciting contest which led to the American 
revolution ; the stamp act being passed in the sixth year of his age. He 
was thus educated in the detestation of tyranny, and prompted by a patri- 
otism which went beyond his years, he left the college of William and 
Mary, where he was pursuing collegiate studies, to join the standard of 
his country, in the 18th year of his age. The declaration of independ- 
ence had just been issued, and at that disastrous moment when Washing- 
ton was preparing to defend New York, against the increasing armies of 
England ; when the timid and wavering were sinking from the side of 
their country's chief, James Monroe arrived at headquarters, with a firm 
determination to share her fate, whether for good or for evil.* 

During the gloomy year of 1776, he shared with the army their defeats 
and their privations ; was present at the disastrous battles of Harlem 

* For a part of this sketch we are indebted to the American Annual Register, vol. vi., 
published in 1832. 



214 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 

heights and Whiteplains ; and in the battle of Trenton, while leading the 
vanguard, he received a wound, the scar of which he carried to his grave. 
After recovering from his wound, he was promoted for his gallantry, to the 
rank of a captain of infantry, and returned to active service. During the 
campaigns of 1777 and 1778, he acted as aid to Lord Stirling, and by 
accepting this place in the staff of that general, he receded from the line 
of promotion ; but in that capacity he distinguished himself in the actions 
of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. Becoming desirous to re- 
gain his position in the line of the army, he endeavored to raise a regi- 
ment of Virginia troops, under the recommendation of General Washing- 
ton, and the authority of the legislature. In this he failed, owing to the 
exhausted state of the country. He therefore devoted himself to the study 
of the law, under the direction of Mr. Jefferson, who was then governor 
of the state. He occasionally acted as a volunteer in repelling the inva- 
sions with which Virginia was afterward visited ; and after the fall of 
Charleston, in 1780, he repaired to the southern army, as a military com- 
missioner, to collect information as to its ability to rescue that portion of 
the Union from the enemy. This duty was performed to the satisfaction 
of the governor, by whom he was appointed. 

He now commenced his career in the legislative councils of his coun- 
try, being elected in 1782, by the county of King George, a member of 
the legislature of Virginia, and by that body shortly after chosen a mem- 
ber of the executive council. He was then only in his twenty-fourth year, 
but appears to have evinced sufficient tact in legislation to induce the 
legislature to elect him the following year one of the delegates to represent 
the state in the continental Congress. He took his seat in that body on the 
13th of December, just in time to be present at Annapolis when Washing- 
ton surrendered his commission into the hands of the authority by whom 
he had been appointed. From that time until 1786, Mr. Monroe contin- 
ued to represent his native state in Congress, and became entirely con- 
vinced of the inefficiency of that body to govern the country under the ar- 
ticles of confederation. He accordingly sought an extension of its pow- 
ers, and in 1785 moved to invest Congress with the power of regulating 
trade. This resolution, together with another in favor of investing it with 
the power of levying an impost duty of five per cent., were referred to a 
committee, of which Mr. Monroe was chairman. 

A report was made, which combined both the objects, and proposed 
such alterations in the articles of confederation as were necessary to vest 
in Congress the powers required. These were among the steps which 
led to the convention at Annapolis, and consequently to the formation and 
adoption of the federal constitution. Mr. Monroe was also active and in- 
fluential in devising a system for disposing of and settling the public lands, 
and warmly opposed the plan of selling each range of townships separately, 
before any other should be offered for sale. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 215 

On the 24tli of December, 1784, Mr. Monroe was appointed, with, eight 
other highly distinguished men of that period, members of a federal court, to 
decide the long pending controversy between Massachusetts and New 
York. He accepted of the appointment, but on the 15th of May, 1786, he 
resigned his commission, and the two states having, during the same year, 
adjusted the matter by mutual agreement, the court never met. 

Mr. Monroe differed from both New York and Massachusetts on the 
question of relinquishing our right to navigate the Mississippi river, as de- 
manded by Spain and assented to by the northern states. The southern 
states opposed the relinquishment of this right, and Mr. Monroe took a 
leading part against any concession to Spain. 

While attending the continental Congress, as a member, at New York, 
Mr. Monroe married Miss Kortright, daughter of Mr. L. Kortright, of that 
city. This lady had been celebrated in the fashionable circles of London 
and Paris for her beauty and accomplishments, and in married life she 
was exemplary, as well as an ornament to the society in which she was 
called to act during the scenes of her husband's subsequent career. 

Toward the conclusion of the year 1786, Mr. Monroe's term of service 
in Congress expired, and, by the rule then adopted, being ineligible for a 
second term, he established himself at Fredericksburg, with the view of 
practising law. He was soon, however, again called from the pursuits of 
private life, by being elected a member of the legislature, and the follow- 
ing year, 1788, he was chosen a delegate to the state convention, assem- 
bled to decide upon the adoption of the federal constitution. 

Notwithstanding Mr. Monroe was convinced of the inefficiency of the 
articles of confederation, and of the necessity of a radical change in the 
government of the Union, he was not altogether prepared to adopt the fed- 
eral constitution, as framed by the convention of 1787. He thought that 
certain amendments ought to be made previous to its adoption, and deci- 
dedly advocated that course in the convention. We have already stated, 
in the memoir of Mr. Madison, that the leading men of Virginia in the 
state convention, were much divided on the question of the adoption of the 
constitution. Among those who opposed it in that body, besides Mr. 
Monroe, were Patrick Henry, George Mason, and William Grayson, while 
its most powerful advocates were James Madison, John Marshall, Ed- 
mund Randolph, and Edmund Pendleton. The convention finally adopted 
the constitution as it was, by a vote of 89 to 79, Mr. Monroe being 
among the negatives ; certain amendments were at the same time recom- 
mended for the adoption of the states, instead of being insisted on previ- 
ous to the acceptance of the constitution. 

The course which Mr. Monroe pursued on this occasion was accepta- 
ble to the state of Virginia, as was proved by the election of a majority 
of anti-federalists to Congress, including the two senators ; and on the 
death of Mr. Grayson, one of the latter, Mr. Monroe was chosen to the 



216 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 

senate of the United States in his place, and took his seat in that body 
in 1790. In this station he continued until 1794, acting with the anti-fed- 
eral party in opposition to Washington's administration, as did Mr. Madi- 
son and most of the Virginia delegation in Congress. The French le- 
publican government having requested the recall of Gouverneur Morris, 
American minister to France, General Washington complied with their 
wishes, as also those of the democratic party in Congress, and appointed 
Mr. Monroe the successor of Mr. Morris, in May, 1794. He was re- 
ceived with distinguished favor in France by the government and people, 
but the course he pursued during his residence at the capital of that re- 
public was not conformable to the views of neutrality entertained by Gen- 
eral Washington, who therefore recalled him in 1796, and sent Charles 
Cotesworth Pinckney in his place. 

On his return to the United States, Mr. Monroe published a volume in 
explanation of his views and proceedings relative to his mission to France, 
vindicating his own course, and censuring the policy of the administration 
toward the French republic. 

He, however, did not cherish any animosity toward General Washing- 
ton, but at a subsequent period he joined with his countrymen in ac- 
knowledging the merits and perfect integrity of that great man. He 
also did ample justice to the character of John Jay, who negotiated his 
celebrated treaty with Great Britain about the same time that Mr. Monroe 
visited France. Although opposed to the treaty made by Mr. Jay, and to 
his political views generally, Mr. Monroe left on record in his own hand- 
writing, an unqualified testimonial to the pure patriotism, the pre-eminent 
ability, and the spotless integrity of John Jay. 

Shortly after his return from France, Mr. Monroe was chosen to the 
legislature, and in 1799 he was elected by that body governor of Virginia, 
where he served for the term of three years, then limited by the constitu- 
tion of the state. 

In 1803, President Jefferson appointed Mr. Monroe envoy extraordinary 
to France, to act jointly with Mr. Livingston, then resident minister at 
Paris, to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans, or a right of depot for 
the United States on the Mississippi. He was also associated with Mr. 
Charles Pinckney, then resident minister at Madrid, to negotiate terms 
also with Spain relative to Louisiana. 

We have, in our notice of Mr. Jefferson's administration, given an ac- 
count of the purchase of Louisiana by the United States, of France. 
That country had been ceded by Spain to France, and Mr. Monroe, upon 
his arrival in France, found a most favorable conjuncture for the accom- 
plishment of the mission, in being enabled to obtain for his country 
the possession, not only of New Orleans, but of the whole province of 
Louisiana. The treaty was concluded within a fortnight after the arrival 
of Mr. Monroe at Paris, and after the conclusion of the negotiation he 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 217 

proceeded to London, where he was also commissioned to act as succes- 
sor to Mr. Rufus King, who had resigned. 

Here he sought to obtain a conventional arrangement for the protection 
of American seamen against impressment, and for the protection of neu- 
tral rights ; but in the midst of these discussions he was called away to 
the discharge of his mission to Spain. 

In the transfer of Louisiana to France by Spain, and to the United 
States by France, the boundaries of the province were not defined. Spain 
was encouraged to dispute the extent of the province, and she sought to 
reduce it to a territory of small dimensions. A controversy arose be- 
tween the United States and Spain, at one time threatening war, and for 
the purpose of attempting an adjustment of these difRculties Mr. Monroe 
proceeded to Madrid. His efforts, joined with those of Mr. Pinckney, 
were unsuccessful, and the controversy was left unsettled. 

Mr. Monroe was then recalled to London to maintain our rights as neu- 
trals, against the systematic encroachment of Great Britain. He was 
there joined by Mr. William Pinkney, who had then been recently sent 
from the United States, as minister to England. A whig ministry being 
then in power in Great Britain, with the friendly feelings of that party 
toward the United States, Messrs. Monroe and Pinkney were enabled to 
negotiate a treaty, in 1807, which, although not as favorable as they would 
have wished, was considered by those envoys as advantageous to the Uni- 
ted States. As the treaty was clogged with certain conditions which were 
deemed by President Jefferson inadmissible, it was not submitted by him 
to the senate, but sent back to England for revisal. The British cabinet, 
however, had been changed, and Mr. Canning, the secretary for foreign 
affairs, refused to resume the negotiation. The mission of Messrs. Mon- 
roe and Pinkney was now at an end. Mr. Monroe, after a short detention, 
in consequence of the difficulty which grew out of the affair of the Ches- 
apeake frigate, returned to the United States in 1807. 

For a considerable time Mr. Monroe felt dissatisfied with his friend, 
President Jefferson, in consequence of his rejection of the treaty with 
Great Britain without consulting the senate, and also from an impression 
that the president's influence was exerted in favor of Mr. Madison as his 
successor to the presidency. Mr. Jefferson, in his correspondence with 
Mr. Monroe, explained his course with regard to the rejection of the 
treaty, and declared his intention to remain perfectly neutral between his 
two friends who were named to succeed him. The Virginia legislature 
settled their respective claims to the presidency, by deciding in favor of 
Mr. Madison, in which decision Mr. Monroe and his friends acquiesced. 

In 1811 he was again elected governor of Virginia, but continued but 
a short time in that station, for upon the resignation of Robert Smith, he 
was appointed by Mr. Madison secretary of state. This office he contin- 
ued to hold during the remainder of Mr. Madison's administration. 



218 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 

After the capture of Washington city, and the resignation of General 
Armstrong, Mr. Monroe was appointed to the war department, without, 
however, resigning as secretary of state. In this station he exhibited a 
remarkable energy and boldness of character. He found the treasuryex- 
hausted, and the public credit prostrated ; while the enemy, relieved from 
his war with France, was preparing to turn his numerous armies, flushed 
with victory over the legions of Napoleon, against the United States. The 
first duty of the secretary of war was to prepare for the new campaign, and 
this he was enabled to do by the now excited spirit of the country. The 
army already authorized by acts of Congress, if the regiments were full, 
numbered 60,000 men, which Mr. Monroe proposed to increase by the ad- 
dition of 40,000, and to levy new recruits by draughting from the whole 
mass of able-bodied men in the United States. This proposition, which 
was considered an imitation of the French mode of conscription long prac- 
tised by Napoleon, and would inevitably have lost him the favor of the 
people, he felt it to be his duty to make, and had intended, in case of the 
continuance of the war, to withdraw his name from the presidential can- 
vass. To two or tnree friends he disclosed his feelings on this occasion, 
in confidence, and had authorized them to publish his intention of decli- 
ning a nomination as successor to Mr. Madison, when the conclusion of 
peace rendered the increase of the army unnecessary, and therefore 
removed the objections to his being a candidate for president. 

Toward the end of the year 1814, Mr. Monroe's attention, as secretary 
of war, was most urgently called to the defence of New Orleans, against 
which a powerful fleet and army had been despatched. To raise the 
funds for the defence of this important point, Mr. Monroe was compelled 
to pledge his private credit, as subsidiary to that of the government, which 
then was at a low ebb. By this act of devotion he was enabled to furnish 
the necessary supplies ; New Orleans was successfully defended, and the 
entire defeat of the British army under General Packenham terminated 
the war in a manner honorable to the American arms. 

A new series of duties now awaited Mr. Monroe. Upon the conclusion 
of peace he resumed his station in the department of state, and as the long- 
tried friend and confidential adviser of Mr. Madison, he was called to the 
arduous task of deciding upon those measures which aimed at the re-es- 
tablishment of the public credit, and to place the country in a better state 
of preparation, in case she should be called upon again to assert her rights 
by an appeal to arms. Our foreign relations, which had been partially 
suspended during the war, were to be renewed, and the domestic policy 
of the United States required to be modified so as to adapt it to the great 
changes which had been produced by the general pacification of Europe. 
In the performance of the arduous duties imposed upon him at this period, 
Mr. Monroe had the good fortune to be sustained by public opinion, and 
with that auxiliary he lent his zealous co-operation to Mr. Madison in ea- 



BIOGBAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 219 

tablishing the system of internal policy, adopted after the close of the war, 
and continued it with new and enlarged features after his election as pres- 
ident of the United States, in 1817. 

In 1816, Mr. Monroe received the nomination of the democratic party, 
through their representatives in Congress, for president of the United 
States. With that party he had uniformly acted, under the various names 
of anti-federal, democratic, and republican, and by them was he elected, 
in 1816, chief magistrate of the nation, to succeed Mr. Madison, on the 
4th of March, 1817. Previous to entering on the duties of his high office, 
he was advised by General Jackson, with whom he was on the most 
friendly terms, to disregard former party divisions in the formation of his 
cabinet, and to use his influence and power to destroy party spirit, by ap- 
pointing the best men to office, without regard to their political preferen- 
ces. This course Mr. Monroe declined to pursue, confining his appoint- 
ments generally, as did his predecessors Jefferson and Madison, to those 
who professed his own political faith, and excluding federalists from office, 
with but few exceptions. 

In other respects the policy of Mr. Monroe was liberal and satisfactory 
to men of all parties, excepting, perhaps, the ardent supporters of a sys- 
tem of internal improvements, who regretted the adherence of the presi- 
dent to a strict construction of the constitution on that subject. On many 
points the policy of Mr. Monroe's administration resembled that of the 
federal school established in the early stages of the government under the 
auspices of Washington and Hamilton. The perfecting of the establish- 
ment of a national bank, of the plan for the gradual discharge of the pub- 
lic debt, of the system of fortifying the coast and increasing the navy, 
and of encouraging by adequate protection the manufactures and arts of 
the country, formed essential parts of the policy referred to, adopted at the 
close of Mr. Madison's administration, and continued by that of Mr. Monroe. 
To these measures Mr. Monroe, finally, after long deliberation, and with 
the entire concurrence of his whole cabinet, sanctioned by repeated dem- 
onstrations of Congress, determined to add a system of internal improve- 
ment, thus yielding his own scruples to advance the interests of the na- 
tion. This was done on the 30th of April, 1824, when the act appropria- 
ting $30,000 for the survey of such routes for canals and public roads as 
the president might direct, received his sanction. 

Among the measures which distinguished the administration of Mr. 
Monroe, was the negotiation of the treaty which added Florida to the Uni- 
ten States. This cession secured to the nation all the territory north of 
Mexico ; and it was negotiated with great propriety by one who had borne 
so conspicuous a part in the acquisition of Louisiana. 

In 1817 the president made a tour through a large portion of the north- 
ern and middle states, which elicited a general expression of kindness, 
respect, and courtesy from the people. 



220 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF MONROE. 

Mr. Monroe was re-elected president in 1820, with more unanimity 
than any one since Washington, receiving every vote of the electoral col- 
leges of the United States, except one, and ended his career in the ser- 
vice of the federal government on the 3d of March, 1825. He then retired 
to his residence in Loudon county, Virginia, where he was shortly after 
appointed a county magistrate, the duties of which office he continued to 
discharge until his departure for the city of New York. He was also ap- 
pointed curator of the university of Virginia ; and in 1 830, having been 
elected a member of the convention called to revise the constitution of 
that state, he was unanimously chosen to preside over its deliberations. 
Before the close of its labors, however, he was compelled by severe in- 
disposition to retire, and in the succeeding summer removed to New York, 
to lake up his abode with his son-in-law, Mr. Samuel L. Gouverneur. 
There he remained, surrounded by filial solicitude and tenderness, until, on 
the fifty-fifth anniversary of the nation's birth (July 4, 1831), he termina- 
ted his earthly career, in the 72d year of his age ; furnishing another stri- 
king coincidence, which, as in the instance of the simultaneous deaths of 
Adams and Jefferson, on the same day, five years previous, afforded occa- 
sion for grave reflection, and seemed pregnant with some mysterious 
moral lesson to a nation whose attention was thus forcibly directed to the 
act which, while it gave it birth as an independent community, also served 
to mark the commencement of a new era in the history of the world. 

Mr. Monroe left only two children, both daughters, one the widow of 
George Hay, Esq., of Richmond, the other the wife of Samuel L. Gouv- 
erneur, Esq., of New York. Mrs. Monroe died but a short time before her 
venerable husband. 

Though in the course of his life he had received from the public treas- 
ury, for his services, $358,000, he retired from office deeply in debt. He 
was, however, relieved at last by the adjustment by Congress of his 
claims, founded chiefly on the disbursements made during the war. 

In his personal appearance Mr. Monroe was tall and well formed, being 
about six feet in stature, with light complexion, and blue eyes. His 
countenance had no indications of superior intellect, but an honesty and 
firmness of purpose which commanded respect, and gained favor and 
friendship. He was laborious and industrious, and doubtless compensated 
in some degree by diligence, for slowness of thought and want of imagi- 
nation. His talents, however, were respectable, and he was a fine speci- 
men of the old school of Virginia gentlemen, generous, hospitable, and 
devoted to his country, which he did not hesitate to serve to the utmost 
of his ability, through a long life, and his career was highly honorable, 
useful, and worthy of admiration. 



ADMINISTRATIOiN OF MONROE. 



On the fourth of March, 1817, the president elect, James Monroe, ac- 
companied by the vice-president elect, Daniel D. Tompkins, left the 
residence of the former, attended by a large concourse of citizens on 
horseback, and marshalled by the gentlemen appointed to that duty, and 
proceeded to Congress Hall, in Washington city, where the usual cere- 
monies of inauguration were performed. The ex-president, Mr. Madison, 
and the judges of the supreme court, were present on the occasion. All 
entered the chamber of the senate, which body was then in session, and 
the vice-president took the chair, the oath of office being administered to 
him, when he delivered a short address. 

This ceremony being ended, the senate adjourned, and the president 
and vice-president, the judges of the supreme court, and the senators pres- 
ent, attended the president to the elevated portico temporarily erected for 
the occasion, where, in the presence of an immense concourse of citizens 
and strangers, including the government officers and foreign ministers, he 
delivered his inaugural address. 

Having concluded his address, the oath of office was administered to 
the president by Chief- Justice Marshall. 

The liberal tone of the president's address, and the course of policy in- 
dicated by it, gave general satisfaction to citizens of all political opinions, 
and the commencement of the new administration was hailed as the dawn 
of an era of good feelings 

The individuals selected by the president to form his cabinet, were all 
of the republican, or democratic school of politics, and distinguished for 
their ability as statesmen, in various public stations which they had pre' 
viously held. John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, was appointed sec- 
retary of state, William H. Crawford, of Georgia, secretary of the treasury, 
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, secretary of war, and William Wirt, 
of "Virginia, attorney-general. The two latter gentlemen were appointed 
in December, 1817, Mr. Calhoun having been named in place of Governor 
Isaac Shelby, of Kentucky, who declined the offer of head of the war 
department, which was first offered to him. Benjamin W. Crowninshield, 
of Massachusetts, was continued as secretary of the navy (which appoint- 



822 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

ment he had received from Mr. Madison) until November 30, 1818, when 
Smith Thompson, of New York, was appointed in his place.* Return Jon- 
athan Meigs, of Ohio, was also continued as postmaster-general (not then 
a cabinet officer), and held that office from March, 1814, until December, 
1823, when John M'Lean, of Ohio, succeeded him. The foregoing were 
the only changes made by Mr. Monroe in the cabinet or heads of depart- 
ments, in the eight years of his administration, showing greater permanency 
and harmony in the affairs of the national government, during that period, 
than at any other time since the adoption of the federal constitution. 

During the late war with Great Britain, a practical opportunity was 
afforded to the government of the United States to discover the relative 
importance of the defences erected along the frontier, and the strength and 
utility of the various fortified places on the Atlantic coast. The frequent and 
sometimes successful incursions of the late enemy, enforced the necessity 
of selecting new points for the erection of strong and efficient batteries to 
protect the country against future invasion ; of demolishing such works as 
were thence found to have been constructed in improper situations ; and 
of concentrating the regular forces at such positions as should render their 
co-operation speedy and effective. 

Impressed with the magnitude of this subject, Mr. Monroe had no 
sooner passed through the forms of inauguration, than he directed his at- 
tention to the means by which to accomplish so desirable an object. A 
mere theoretical knowledge would be insufficient for the consummation of 
his views ; and, indeed, could not be entirely depended upon. Availing 
himself, therefore, of the experience acquired before the close of the late 
contest, he determined to engage in a personal examination of the situa- 
tion, strength, and condition of all the citadels and military posts in the 
northern and eastern departments of the Union. To the early execution 
of this intention he was urged, as he himself intimated, by a desire to 
look into the economical expenditures of the public moneys, which had 
been liberally appropriated by Congress ; to facilitate the completion of 
these measures ; and to ascertain the propriety of adopting plans suggested 
by the agents employed in the service of fortification. 

Taking advantage of a season of comparative leisure, the president left 
"Washington city on the 31st of May, 1817, entered upon his laudable imder- 
taking, and prosecuted his route through all the principal towns and cities 
which he had marked out for his first tour of observation. Departing from 
the capital, he passed through Baltimore to the state of Delaware, to the 
cities of Philadelphia and New York, and the chief towns in Connecticut 
and Rhode Island, to Boston and other parts of Massachusetts ; to the 
capital and other towns in New Hampshire ; and through the province of 
Maine to Portland. Thence he extended his journey westward through 
Vermont ; inspected the works at Plattsburgh ; and passing through the 
forest to the St. Lawrence, he embarked for Lake Ontario ; visited Sack- 

• Dec. 9, 1823, Samuel L. Southard, of N. J., succeeded Mr. Thompson, appointed judge. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 223 

ett's Harbor and Fort Niagara ; and advancing along the strait to Buffalo, 
sailed through Lake Erie, and landed at Detroit, the extremity of his tour. 
He took a direction thence through the woods of the Michigan territory, 
and through the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, toward the 
District of Columbia, where he arrived after an absence of more than three 
months. 

The persevering manner in which this long, laborious, and fatiguing 
journey was performed, are strong and certain indications of its beneficial 
results. 

With an alacrity paralleled only by the prompt aid of the citizens to 
accelerate his movements, the president inspected garrisons ; examined 
fortifications ; reviewed infantry regiments at cantonments ; and obtained 
a knowledge of the condition of the military arsenals and naval depots along 
the Atlantic and inland frontiers. To these numerous duties he added the 
desire to promote the prosperity of the people ; to correct abuses in the 
public offices ; to avert the calamities incident to any future period of hos- 
tilities ; to meliorate the condition of the poorer classes of society ; and to 
unite and harmonize the sentiments and affections of the citizens of one 
section with those of another. A considerable part of his journey in return- 
ing from the northwestern frontier, was through a succession of forests and 
Indian settlements. He sustained, however, all the inconveniences of 
comfortless lodgings, and unpleasant and fatiguing travelling, without any 
abatement of that cheerfulness and sense of public duty manifested in the 
commencement of his tour, the advantageous results of which will long 
be remembered and acknowledged by the nation.* 

The visit of the president to the principal cities and towns of the mid- 
dle and eastern states, possessed the charm of novelty, neither Mr. Jeffer- 
son nor Mr. Madison having followed the example set by General Wash- 
ington, during their presidential terms. They, consequently, were per- 
sonally unknown to the great body of the people. Mr. Monroe was eve- 
rywhere received with enthusiasm by the people, and honored with civio 
and military escorts and processions, in the cities, towns, and villages, 
through which he passed. His ordinary costume on these occasions was 
the undress uniform formerly worn by officers of the American revolution, 
namely, a military blue coat of domestic manufacture, light underclothes, 
and a cocked hat ; a becoming taste for a president who had been a sol- 
dier of the revolution, and which tended to awaken in the minds of the 
people the remembrance of the days of Washington. In his reply to an 
address from the New York society of the Cincinnati, the president said : 
*The opportunity which my visit to this city has presented of meeting the 
New York society of the Cincinnati, with many of whom I was well ac- 
quainted in our revolution, aflx)rds me heartfelt satisfaction. It is impos- 
sible to meet any of those patriotic citizens, whose valuable services were 
• Narrative of President's Tour. 



224 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

SO intimately connected with that great event, without recollections which 
it is equally just and honorable to cherish." 

To an address of the president of the American Society for the Encour- 
agement of Manufactures, at New York, the president replied, that he duly 
appreciated the objects of the institution, which were particularly dear to 
him from their being intimately connected with the real independence of 
our country ; and closed with an assurance that he would use his efforts, 
as far as the general interest of the country would permit, to promote the 
patriotic and laudable objects of the society. 

The citizens of Kennebunk and its vicinity, in Maine, having in their 
address alluded to the prospects of a political union among the people, in 
support of the administration, the president said, in reply : " You are 
pleased to express a confident hope that a spirit of mutual conciliation 
may be one of the blessings which may result from my administration. 
This indeed would be an eminent blessing, and I pray it may be realized. 
Nothing but union is wanting to make us a great people. The present 
time affords the happiest presage that this union is fast consummating. 
It can not be otherwise ; I daily see greater proofs of it. The further I 
advance in my progress in the country, the more I perceive that we are 
all Americans — that we compose but one family — that our republican in- 
stitutions will be supported and perpetuated by the united zeal and patri- 
otism of all. Nothing could give me greater satisfaction than to behold a 
perfect union among ourselves — a union which is necessary to restore to 
social intercourse its former charms, and to render our happiness, as a 
nation, unmixed and complete. To promote this desirable result requires 
no compromise of principle, and I promise to give it my continued atten- 
tion, and my best endeavors." 

No part of his subsequent official conduct contradicted the magnanimous 
spirit which Mr. Monroe discovered at the commencement of his admin- 
istration, excepting that he seems to have considered that his duty to the 
party to which he owed his election, and to which he had been attached 
through life, required him, in his selections for public ofiice, to confine 
himself to men professing democracy, and the continued exclusion of fed- 
eralists from the favor of the national government. The federal party, 
however, was almost entirely prostrated soon after the peace of 1815, and 
continued their organization in but few of the states, after a feeble strug- 
gle of three or four years. Those who had acted with the party were 
satisfied with the principles and views generally adopted by the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Monroe ; and those who might have sought office, if in the 
majority, had been so long accustomed to the ban of proscription, that 
they did not probably complain at being still placed without the pale of 
governmental favor. 

Had the president followed the advice of General Jackson, who, in a 
correspondence with him preceding and immediately after his election, 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 225 

advised him to select his cabinet without any regard to party, it is not 
probable that the measures of the admi,nistration would have been different 
from those which were adopted by the recommendations of the cabinet 
composed of Messrs. Adams, Crawford, Calhoun, Crowninshield, and Wirt. 
Those gentlemen were all understood, while in the cabinet, to have been 
in favor of the policy adopted, which was similar to that advocated by the 
federal party, commencing with the measures of Washington and Ham- 
ilton in the organization and early movements of the national government. 

General Jackson's advice to Mr. Monroe is contained in a letter to the lat- 
ter, dated November 12, 1816, when Mr. Monroe was considered the presi- 
dent elect. The following is an extract : " Your happiness and the na- 
tion's welfare materially depend upon the selections which are to be made 
to fill the heads of departments. Everything depends on the selection 
of your ministry. In every selection, party and party feelings should be 
avoided. Now is the time to exterminate that monster called party spirit. 
By selecting characters most conspicuous for their probity, virtue, capa- 
city, and firmness, without any regard to party, you will go far to, if not 
entirely, eradicate those feelings which, on former occasions, threw so 
many obstacles in the way of government ; and perhaps have the pleasure 
and honor of uniting a people heretofore politically divided. The chief 
magistrate of a great and powerful nation should never indulge in party 
feelings. His conduct should be liberal and disinterested, always bearing 
in mind that he acts for the whole and not a part of the community." 

The president, in his reply, discusses the subject of parties and ap- 
pointments at great length, and in the course of his remarks says : " The 
election of a successor to Mr. Madison has taken place, and a new admin- 
istration is to commence its service. The election has been made by the 
republican party, and of a person known to be devoted to that cause. How 
shall he act 1 How organize the administration ? How fill the vacancies 
existing at the time ? 

" The distinction between republicans and federalists, even in the 
southern, and middle, and western states, has not been fully done away. 
To give effect to free government, and secure it from future danger, ought 
not its decided friends, who stood firm in the day of trial, to be principally 
relied on ? Would not the association of any of their opponents in the ad- 
ministration, itself wound their feelings, or, at least, of very many of them, 
to the injury of the republican cause ? Might it not be considered, by the 
other party, as an offer of compromise with them, which would lessen the 
ignominy due to the counsels which produced the Hartford convention, 
and thereby have a tendency to revive that party on its former principles ? 
My impression is, that the administration should rest strongly on the re- 
publican party, indulging toward the other a spirit of moderation, and 
evincing a desire to discriminate between its members, and to bring the 
whole into the republican fold, as quietly as possible. Many men, very 
15 



226 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

distinguished for their talents, are of opinion that the existence of the 
federal party is necessary to keep union and order in the republican ranks ; 
that is, that free government can not exist without parties. This is not 
my opinion. The first object is to save the cause, which can be done by 
those who are devoted to it only, and of course by keeping them together ; 
or, in other words, by not disgusting them by too hasty an act of liberality 
to the other party, thereby breaking the generous spirit of the republican 
party, and keeping alive that of the federal party. The second is, to pre- 
vent the reorganization and revival of the federal party, which, if my hy- 
pothesis is true, that the existence of party is not necessary to a free gov- 
ernment, and the other opinion which I have advanced is well founded, 
that the great body of the federal party are republican, will not be found 
impracticable. To accomplish both objegts, and thereby exterminate all 
party divisions in our country, and give new strength and stability to our 
government, is a great undertaking, not easily executed. I am, neverthe- 
less, decidedly of opinion that it may be done ; and should the experiment 
fail, I shall conclude that its failure was imputable more to the want of a 
correct knowledge of all circumstances claiming attention, and of sound 
judgment in the measures adopted, than to any other cause. I agree, I 
think, perfectly with you, in the grand object, that moderation should be 
shown to the federal party, and even a generous policy be adopted toward 
it ; the only difference between us seems to be, how far shall that spirit 
be indulged in the outset ; and it is to make you thoroughly acquainted 
with my views on this highly important subject, that I have written you 
so freely upon it."* 

The first session of the fifteenth Congress commenced on the 1st of 
December, 1817, and continued until the 20fh of April, 1818. The dem- 
ocratic majority in both senate and house was overwhelming, the number 
of federalists in this Congress being few indeed. And after this period, 
it may be remarked that former party lines became entirely extinct in the 
national legislature. Mr. Clay was re-elected speaker of the house of 
representatives, by a vote nearly unanimous. The vice-president, Daniel 
D. Tompkins, of course presided in the senate, and in his absence John 
Gaillard acted as president pro tern. 

The president's message involved many subjects of great interest to 
the nation, many of which were taken up and acted upon by Congress. 
The first act of the session was one to abolish the internal duties imposed 
during the war, namely, duties on licenses to distillers, on refined sugar, 
licenses to retailers, sales at auction, on pleasure carriages, and stamps. 
Most of the measures recommended by the president were approved by a 
large majority of Congress ; and there was much harmony among mem- 
bers of different political views. There was much less crimination and 
bitterness manifested in debate than had appeared at former sessions of 
• Niles's Register, vol. xivi., pp. 165, 166. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 227 

Congress. The compensation for members of both houses was fixed at 
eight dollars a day, and eight dollars for every twenty miles' travel ; and 
the act of March, 1816, providing a salary of fifteen hundred dollars per 
annum for each member was repealed. 

An act granting pensions to officers and soldiers of the revolutionary 
war was passed at this session, in conformity to the suggestion of the 
president. The law was modified, and in some measure restricted, by an 
act two years after, which confined the pensions to those who were in 
destitute circumstances. But, with this modification, the law afforded re- 
lief to a great number, not less than thirteen thousand, who had given their 
personal services and hazarded their lives for the liberties of the country, 
in the war of the revolution.* This act of justice and equity had been long 
delayed through the inability of the government, but the feelings of the 
people were at last strongly expressed in favor of doing something for the 
benefit of those to whom the country owed so much, and who had never 
received an adequate compensation for their invaluable services. 

An additional act was passed on the subject of the importation of slaves 
into the United States, which modified, in some particulars, the law of 
1807 on the same subject, but did not materially change its prohibitions 
and penalties. And a law was enacted forbidding the citizens of the 
United States to engage in any hostile enterprise against the subjects of 
a government which was on terms of peace and amity with the United 
States. There were some attempts at that time to introduce slaves into 
the country through southwestern ports ; and an expedition was appre- 
hended to be in preparation to invade the Mexican territory. 

The state of Mississippi was, bj^ a resolution of Congress, admitted into 
the Union on the 10th of December, 1817, and an act was passed in April 
following, authorizing the people of Illinois territory to form a constitution 
and state government, preparatory to admission as a state. An act con- 
cerning navigation closed the ports of the United States against any Brit- 
ish vessel coming from any colony of Great Britain the ports of which 
were closed against vessels of the United States. This was done as a 
retaliatory measure, in consequence of the British government having re- 
fused to allow a direct trade from the United States to the British West 
Indies and other American colonies. An act respecting the flag of the 
United States fixed the number of stripes, alternate red and white, at thir- 
teen, and directed that the Union be represented by stars equal to the 
number of states, white in a blue field. Three per cent, of the net pro- 
ceeds of sales of public lands in Indiana was directed to be paid to that 
state for the purpose of making roads and canals. The duties on certain 
manufactures, viz., copper, cut-glass, Russia sheetings, iron, nails, and 
alum, were increased, and the majority in favor of protection to domestic 
manufactures was large in this Congress. In the senate all but three, 

• Bradford. 



228 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

and in the house of representatives all but sixteen members, voted for a 
bill to continue for seven years the duty laid in 1816 on imports of cotton 
and woollen manufactures. That duty, in 1816, was fixed at twenty-five 
per cent, on cottons and woollens for three years, and the minimum value 
of a square yard of cotton was then fixed at twenty-five cents. Still the 
amount of protection afforded by the tariff of 1816 to the manufacturers of 
cottons and woollens, was not found adequate to the purpose, and the ex- 
cessive importations of foreign manufactured goods for several years after 
the peace, prostrated numerous American manufacturers, and spread ruin 
and desolation among the industrious classes, including agriculturists as 
well as mechanics and manufacturers. The bankruptcies among the mer- 
cantile portion of the community were also extensive. 

The subject of internal improvements by the general government was 
discussed in Congress at this session. A committee who had the subject 
under consideration reported, that " the dividends of the United States in 
the national bank be appropriated to such objects ;" but there was a strong 
opposition to the measure ; and after repeated debates, relating principally 
to the constitutionality of such appropriations, the subject was postponed 
to a future day. And yet a vote was taken in the house, at one stage of 
the bill, when there appeared a majority of fifteen in favor of appropriating 
the public funds for canals, and for military and postroads. The speaker, 
Mr. Clay, was one of the ablest advocates of internal improvement, but it 
was understood that the opinion and influence of the president were 
against the measure. 

A motion was made in the house of representatives, when in commit- 
tee of the whole, by the speaker, Mr. Clay, for a mission to South Amer- 
ica, to express the sympathy of the government of the United States for 
the colonies there which had declared their independence, with a view to 
enter into friendly political relations with them at a future day. The spe- 
cific appropriation was to provide for a minister to Buenos Ayres and the 
provinces of La Plata, should the executive deem it expedient and proper 
to appoint one. The proposition was rejected by a vote of 115 to 45. 
The inhabitants of Spanish America had long been in a degraded condi- 
tion, and subject to oppression by the mother-country. Their situation 
was commiserated by our citizens, and they were generally desirous that 
the people of that section of America might succeed in throwing off the 
Spanish yoke, and obtaining their independence. But the policy and pro- 
priety of a formal declaration in their favor by the government of the 
United States, at that period, and in their then unsettled state, was doubted 
both in Congress and by a large portion of the people. Mr. Clay's speech 
in favor of the measure, however, was marked by statesmanlike views 
and philanthropic and liberal feelings ; which he expressed in his usual 
style of eloquence and powerful argument. He was answered by Mr. 
Forsyth, of Georgia, who opposed the projected measure with great ability. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 229 

The views of Mr. Clay were subsequetly sanctioned by the course of 
events, which resulted in South American independence. 

The president, soon after the adjournment of Congress, visited the towns 
and coasts of Chesapeake bay, for the purpose of examining into the state 
of the forts and other means of defence in that quarter, and the proper lo- 
cation for a naval depot. Having accomplished the principal object of his 
tour, he returned to Washington on the 17th of June, through the interior 
of Virginia. 

A treaty having been concluded between the United States and Swe- 
den, which was negotiated by Mr. Jonathan Russell, minister to Stock- 
holm, the same was ratified by the president and senate, in May, 1818. 
During this year, and while negotiations for a treaty with Spain were 
pending, serious difficulties arose in Florida, on account of the invasion 
of the territory then in possession of the Spanish government, by United 
States troops under General Andrew Jackson, and of the seizure of the 
fortified towns of St. Marks and Pensacola. General Jackson had been 
directed to subdue the Seminole Indians, who were then troublesome to 
the people of the United States in Alabama and vicinity, and strong 
measures were deemed advisable and necessary by him to effect the 
object of the government. His excuse for entering the Spanish terri- 
tory was, that the hostile Indians fled to the Spanish commanders for 
protection ; that they were encouraged by them ; and that the safety of 
the inhabitants in that part of the United States required such proceed- 
ings. The president afterward caused the instructions given to Gen- 
eral Jackson to be laid before Congress ; and he also gave orders im- 
mediately for the restoration of the forts and places to the Spanish 
authorities. 

Congress again assembled on the 16th of November, 1818, and contin- 
ued in session until the 3d of March, 1819, when their term of service ex- 
pired. The state of Illinois was admitted into the Union, by a resolution 
passed on the 3d of December, 1818. The people of Alabama were au- 
thorized to form a constitution and state government, preparatory to admis- 
sion as a state. An act was passed establishing a territorial government 
for Arkansas, then a part of the territory of Missouri. The citizens of 
Michigan territory were authorized to elect a delegate to Congress. Other 
important laws were the following : To protect the commerce of the Uni- 
ted States, and to punish piracy ; to regulate the duties on imported 
wines, reducing the rates thereon ; to provide for the civilization of the 
Indian tribes adjoining the frontiers, by which the president was author- 
ized to employ suitable persons to teach and encourage them in agriculture, 
and also to instruct their children in reading, writing, and aritlimetic, and 
ten thousand dollars were appropriated for such purpose ; an additional 
act concerning the coasting trade ; an act to authorize the president to 
take possession of East and West Florida, and to establish a temporary 



230 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

government therein ; and an act to provide for the prompt settlement of 
public accounts. 

The conduct of General Jackson with regard to the Seminole war in 
Florida, was a subject of inquiry in both houses of Congress. In the 
house of representatives a report was made on the subject by the commit- 
tee on military affairs, disapproving of the general's proceedings, and con- 
cluding with resolutions of censure. After an able and protracted debate, 
the report and resolutions were rejected by a large majority. 

A treaty with Spain was concluded at Washington on the 22d of February, 
1819, by .John Quincy Adams, secretary of state, on the part of the United 
States, and Don Luis de Onis on the part of Spain, by which East and 
West Florida, Avith all the islands adjacent, were ceded by Spain to the 
United States. The boundar)' between the territories of the two powers 
•was also settled by this treaty. A sum not exceeding five millions of dol- 
lars was to be paid by the United States, out of the proceeds of sales of 
lands in Florida, or in stock, or money, to citizens of the United States, 
on account of former spoliations on American commerce by Spanish 
vessels-of-war. This treaty was ratified by the king of Spain in Octo- 
ber, 1820. 

A convention was concluded between the United States and Great Brit- 
ain, in October, 1818, and afterward ratified by both governments ; but the 
subject of impressment was not embraced in the treaty, nor that of the 
trade between the United States and the British colonies, though both 
points were iirged by the negotiators on the part of the United States. 
The principal articles related to the Newfoundland and other fisheries, 
to the northern boundary line between the territories of each nation, from 
the lake of the Woods to the Rocky mountains ; to the renewal and con- 
tinuance of the convention of 1815 for the term of ten years ; and to the 
restoration of slaves belonging to citizens of the United States, taken in 
the course of the war of 1812, as formerly stipulated by the treaty of Ghent. 

During the summer of 1819, the president made a tour through the 
southern section of the country, for similar objects to those which had in- 
duced his visit to the north in 1817. In his southern tour the president 
visited Charleston, Savannah, and Augusta ; after which he proceeded 
through the Cherokee nation to Nashville, Tennessee, and thence to Lou- 
isville and Lexington, Kentucky ; returning to Washington in the month 
of August. 

The attention of the government continued to be directed chiefly to the 
financial concerns of the country, by effecting sales of the public lands, 
and reducing the national debt, as well as to a gradual completion of for- 
tifications for defence. The demands on the treasury had increased, on 
account of the great number of pensioners under the law of 1818. More 
than a million of dollars were paid to the veterans of the revolution in one 
year ; and the revenue arising from imports in 1817 was less than in the 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 231 

preceding year. Embarrassments of a pecuniary nature affected most 
parts of the United States, in 1818 and 1819, and the influence to some 
extent was felt in the revenue.* 

At this period the manufacturing interests of the United States were in 
a state of extreme depression, owing to the importations of foreign goods 
at constantly reduced prices, and the general pressure in the monetary 
affairs of the nation. The president was known to be friendly to further 
protection of domestic manufactures, by a proper revision of the tariff on 
imports, and great efforts were made in the northern and middle states to 
influence public opinion and the action of Congress in favor of the na- 
tional industry. 

The sixteenth Congress assembled on the 6th of December, 1819, and, 
being the first session, was continued until the 15th of May, 1820. Mr. 
Clay was again elected speaker, by nearly a unanimous vote, and Mr. 
Gailiard was continued as president pro tempore of the senate. The 
former distinctions of party having almost if not quite disappeared in 
Congress, new questions of great national interest arose to divide the 
members. Additional protection to American manufactures ; internal im- 
provements by the general government ; and the acknowledgment of the 
independence of the South American republics ; were among the most 
prominent of the subjects agitated. To these was soon added the Mis- 
souri question, which involved the propriety and expediency of the exten- 
sion of slavery in new states west of the Mississippi. 

The state of Alabama was admitted into the Union by a resolution 
passed December 14, 1819 ; and an act was passed on the 3d of March, 
1820, admitting the state of Maine into the Union, that state having formed 
a constitution by consent of Massachusetts, with which state Maine, as a 
province, had been connected since 1652. An act was also passed, on the 
6th of March, 1820, authorizing the people of Missouri territory to form a 
constitution and state government, preparatory to admission into the Union. 
It was proposed to amend the bill on that subject by inserting a clause 
imposing it as a condition of admission, that the future removal or trans- 
portation of slaves into that territory should be prohibited. This question 
gave rise to the most exciting and animated debates in both houses of 
Congress. In the progress of the discussion in the senate, the Missouri 
bill was annexed to the bill for the admission of Maine, but the proposi- 
tion was rejected by the house of representatives, after which the bills 
were separated. On the last day of February, 1820, the amendment pro- 
posed in the house to the Missouri bill, restricting slavery, after a very 
long and able debate, was carried, by a majority of eight votes, but on the 
next day the same amendment was rejected by a majority of four. The bill 
was then passed without restrictions, and on the 6th of March approved by 
the president, Maine having been previously admitted on the 3d of March. 

• Bradford. 



232 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

An attempt was made to pass a new tariff act at this session, giving ad- 
ditional protection to American manufactures. The bill was adopted in 
the house of representatives by a majority of twenty, but did not receive 
the concurrence of the senate. Great disappointment was felt by the man- 
ufacturers at this result, the pressure and pecuniary distress at the time 
being great. The heavy importations of foreign manufactures tended to 
depress prices, and to ruin those engaged in manufactures in the United 
States. The currency was also in a deranged slate. A spirit for bank- 
ing companies prevailed, and an unusual number of those corporations 
were authorized in many of the states of the Union. The country was 
flooded with paper-money issued by these banks, many of which were 
unable to redeem their bills when presented ; and the most disastrous re- 
siUts soon followed. The national bank had been in operation between two 
and three years, but it had not yet gathered sufficient strength to regulate 
the currency, which indeed was impracticable, when the balance of trade 
was largely against the United States, from excessive importations. 

An act respecting the public lands, passed at this session, authorized 
sales in half quarter sections, or eighty acres, fixed the price at one dol- 
lar and twenty-five cents per acre, and abolished the credit system on 
sales of lands, directing that after July 1, 1820, all such sales should be 
made for cash only. The principle of internal improvement by the gen- 
eral government was sanctioned by an act to authorize a survey of a route 
for a continuation of the Cumberland road from the Ohio river, opposite 
Wheeling, Virginia, through Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to the Mississippi, 
between St. Louis and the mouth of the Illinois river, for whicli survey an 
appropriation of ten thousand dollars was made. The navigation act of April, 
1818, was amended so as to extend the prohibition of British vessels from 
the colonies, to all places in the British provinces in America and the 
West Indies. This and the former act, which were proposed by Rufus 
King, a senator from New York, were not designed as hostile acts, but as 
measures called for by a regard to the interests of the navigation of the 
United States, and in the expectation that they might eventually lead to 
the adoption of liberal principles and a reciprocity in trade. The presi- 
dent was authorized, by an act passed at this session, to borrow three 
millions of dollars for the public service, the secretary of the treasury hav- 
ing stated that a deficiency might be expected in the revenue. Attempts 
were made to pass a bill for establishing a uniform system of bankruptcy ; 
also amending the constitution so as to provide for a uniform mode of 
choosing electors of president and vice-president, but, after much discus- 
sion, both of these propositions were rejected. The members from the 
northern and eastern states were generally in favor of a bankrupt law, but 
those from the south and west were opposed to it. 

The presidential election coming on in 1820, Messrs. Monroe and 
Tompkins were nominated for re-election as president and vice-presideat. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 233 

They were again chosen to those high offices by the electoral colleges, 
with great unanimity, only one vote having been given against Mr. RTon- 
roe, while he received 231 ; and 14 against Mr. Tompkins, who received 
218 votes. 

The second session of the sixteenth Congress commenced on the 13th 
of November, 1 820, and ended on the 3d of March, 1 82 1 . Mr. Clay having 
sent a letter of resignation as speaker, to the clerk of the house of repre- 
sentatives, indispensable private business requiring his attention in the early 
part of the session, the house proceeded to ballot for a new speaker, but after 
seven trials without effecting a choice, an adjournment took place until the 
following day, when, after nineteen unsuccessful ballots, the election of 
speaker was postponed until the third day. The prominent candidates voted 
for were John W. Taylor, of New York, Mr. Lowndes, of South Carolina, 
Mr. Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, and Mr. Samuel Smith, of Maryland. On 
the third day a choice of speaker was effected, Mr. John W. Taylor being 
elected by a small majority over all other candidates. Mr. Taylor was 
of that section of republicans in the state of New York who supported 
De Witt Clinton, then governor of that state. He was decidedly favora- 
ble to a tariff for protection to domestic manufactures, and opposed to the 
extension of slavery in Missouri. The election of a speaker with these 
views, was of course the cause of some excitement and dissatisfaction, at 
a time when questions of great interest were to be determined by the ac- 
tion of Congress, which for a time seemed even to threaten a dissolution 
of the Union. The mild, impartial, and conciliatory course of the new 
speaker, however, tended to allay much of the feeling at first excited, 
at the same time that the respect of the members was elicited toward 
himself. 

The most important question agitated in Congress at this session, was 
the admission of Missouri into the Union. The constitution framed by the 
people of that state was communicated to Congress in the early part of the 
session, and referred to a committee who, through Mr. Lowndes, made au 
able report on the subject, declaring the constitution of the state repub- 
lican, and concluding with a resolution that Missouri be admitted into the 
Union on an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatever. 
Mr. Lowndes, in moving to refer the resolution to a committee of the 
whole, stated that the report was the act of a majority of the committee, 
and not of every individual of the committee. The debate on the subject 
continued a week, and the discussion was managed with great ability and 
good temper. It was decided by a majority of fourteen, in the house, that 
Missouri could not be admitted into the Union with the constitution as 
presented. Those who voted against the admission, did so on the ground 
that the constitution of the state permitted slavery, and that there were 
other objectionable features in that instrument, particularly in relation to 
free persons of color. The members from the slave states voted unani- 



234 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

mously for the admission of Missouri, while those from the northern and 
middle states, with few exceptions, voted against it. 

Matters were in this situation, when the Missouri question again pre- 
sented itself, on the fourteenth of February, 1821, the day appointed by 
law for opening and counting the votes for president and vice-president. 
Missouri having chosen presidential electors, and transmitted her votes for 
president and vice-president to Congress, a resolution passed the senate 
directing that in case any objection should be made to counting the votes 
from Missouri, the president of the senate should declare that, if the votes 
of Missouri were counted, the number of votes for A. B. for president 
would be so many, and if the votes of Missouri were not counted, the num- 
ber would be so many, and that in either case A. B. is elected. The 
same course to be pursued in relation to vice-president. This resolution 
was taken up in the house on the morning of the day when the votes 
were to be counted. Mr. Clay having by this time taken his seat as a 
member, warmly supported the resolution as the only mode of avoiding 
the difficulty. It was also generally supported by the members in favor 
of restricting Missouri as to slavery, but opposed by most of those from the 
slave states. It was finally agreed to on the part of the house, sometime 
after the hour appointed for the meeting of the two houses to count the 
votes. Considerable delay and confusion took place while the votes were 
being counted, and some of the southern members, particularly John Ran- 
dolph, of Virginia, made an effort to compel the house to declare that Mis- 
souri was a state of the Union. The course recommended by the joint 
resolution was finally adopted, and the president of the senate declared 
James Monroe and Daniel D. Tompkins duly elected president and vice- 
president, for the term of four years from the 4th of March, 1821. 

On the 26th of February, Mr. Clay, from a joint committee of the two 
houses appointed on the Missouri question, reported a resolution for the 
admission of the state into the Union, on condition that the said state, by 
their legislature, should assent to a condition that a part of the state con- 
stitution should never be construed to authorize the passage of a law by 
which any citizen of either of the states in the Union should be excluded 
from the enjoyment of any of the privileges and immunities to which such 
citizen is entitled under the constitution of the United States. After debate, 
the final question was taken on this resolution, which was carried in the 
house by a vote of 87 to 81, and was concurred in by the senate on the 
28th of February, and being approved by the president on the 2d of 
March, 1821, Missouri was admitted into the Union. Thus this exciting 
question was finally settled, principally through the? eflx)rts of Mr. Clay, 
who had also at the former session proposed and procured the adoption 
of a resolution, or section of compromise, in the act authorizing Missouri 
to form a constitution, by which slavery was to be for ever prohibited in 
that part of the territory west of the Mississippi (excepting the state 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 235 

of Missouri), lying north of thirty-six degrees and thirty minutes north 
latitude. 

On the 22d of February the president issued his proclamation on the 
subject of the treaty which had been made with Spain, and announced 
that the same had been finally ratified by both the governments of the 
United States and Spain. Thus another important matter was happily 
brought to a conclusion. 

Mr. Clay again brought before Congress the question of acknowledging 
the independence of the Spanish provinces of South America, and in the 
house of representatives resolutions to that effect were adopted. 

In the senate a motion to declare the sedition act of 1798 unconstitu- 
tional, and to pay back the fines imposed by the United States courts for 
violations of the law, was offered by Mr. Barbour, of Virginia. After a 
warm debate the resolution was rejected, and the constitutionality of the 
law therefore sustained, by a vote of 24 to 19. 

At this session of Congress the peace establishment of the army was 
reduced by law to seven regiments of infantry, and four regiments of ar- 
tillery, with officers for the ordnance and engineering departments. The 
annual appropriation for the in-crease of the navy, which had been fixed 
in 1816 at one million of dollars, was reduced to five hundred thousand 
dollars. 

Propositions introduced into Congress to prohibit the reception for pay- 
ments to government in bills of state banks which issued those of a less 
denomination than five dollars ; and to establish a national system of edu- 
cation by funds accruing from the sale of the public lands, were rejected. 

An act was passed at this session for carrying into effect the treaty be- 
tween the United States and Spain, authorizing the president to take pos- 
session of Florida, establishing a temporary government in the territory, 
and extending the laws of the United States to the same. A similar act 
had been passed by the fifteenth Congress, two years before, namely, 
March 3, 1819, to take effect when the treaty with Spain should be rati- 
fied. The provisions of the present act were somewhat extended. A board 
of three commissioners, to settle claims under the treaty, was directed 
to be appointed, and one hundred thousand dollars were appropriated for 
carrying the act into effect. 

On Monday the 5th of March, 1821, Mr. Monroe was again inducted 
into ofiice, for the term of four years. In the presence of a large con- 
course of his fellow-citizens, assembled in the hall of representatives at 
Washington, he delivered an inaugural address of more than ordinary 
length. The oath of office was administered to him by Chief-Justice 
Marshall. 

The seventeenth Congress held its first session from the 3d of Decem- 
ber, 1821, until the 8th of May, 1822. Mr. Clay not being a member of 
the house of representatives for this Congress, an attempt was made, prin- 



236 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

cipally by the friends of a protective tariff, to again elect Mr. John W. 
Taylor speaker. Numerous ballottings took place without effecting a 
choice ; but finally, most of the opposition to Mr. Taylor being concentra- 
ted on Mr. Philip P. Barbour, of Virginia, he was chosen speaker by 
a small majority, over Mr. Taylor and a few scattering votes. The 
views of Mr. Barbour were known to be opposed to a protective tariff, and 
to a system of internal improvements by the general government, and he 
had voted against the proposed restrictions respecting slavery on the 
admission of Missouri. 

The most important acts of Congress passed at this session, were as 
follows : A territorial government was established in Florida, and a law 
was enacted for the preservation of timber on the public lands in that ter- 
ritory. Another act established a board of three commissioners, to ascer- 
tain the claims and titles to land in Florida, A law was also passed to 
relieve the people from the operation of certain ordinances, one of which 
was made by General Jackson, while governor of Florida, in 1821, and 
another passed by the city council of St. Augustine, in 1821. These 
ordinances were repealed, and declared null and void, and any person at- 
tempting to enforce them was to be punished by fine or imprisonment. 
Provision was made for receiving subscriptions to a loan of twenty-six 
millions of dollars, at five per cent., in exchange for stock then bearing 
an interest of six and seven per cent. The state of Illinois was author- 
ized to open a canal through the public lands to connect the Illinois river 
with Lake Michigan, and ninety feet of land on each side of said canal 
was reserved from any sale to be made by the United States ; every sec- 
tion of land through which the canal route might pass, was reserved from 
future sale, until specially directed by law. Three per cent, of the net 
proceeds of sales of the public lands in the state of Missouri, Mississippi, 
and Alabama, was directed to be paid to the said states, to be applied to 
the making of roads and canals within the same. The apportionment ot 
representatives to Congress among the several states was fixed at one 
member for every forty thousand of federal population. The president 
was authorized to declare the ports of the United States open to British 
vessels from the colonies, on satisfactory evidence being given that the 
ports in the British West Indies have been opened tp the vessels of the 
United States. 

The subject of a general bankrupt law was again debated, and occupied 
much of the time of this Congress. It was finally rejected, by a vote of 
99 to 72. The question of a further protection to manufactures, particularly 
cottons and woollens, by additional duties on importations of those arti- 
cles, was rejected, but the standing committee to whom the subject was 
referred, having been appointed by a speaker who was opposed to protec- 
tion, reported that any additional legislation was inexpedient. The tarifT 
question excited great attention and interest throughout the United States. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 237 

The friends of protection to American manufactures were zealous and ac- 
tive in spreading their views among the people, and in many of the north- 
ern and western states the agriculturists were convinced that their inter- 
ests were promoted by protection, as well as that of the manufacturers. 
Members of Congress from the southern, and from some of the eastern 
states, at that time, were opposed to an increase of the tariff on foreign 
goods, from an impression that high duties operated unequally on different 
classes and sections of the community. 

In accordance with the recommendation of the president, a resolution 
was offered in the house of representatives, in .January, 1822, for recogni- 
zing the independence of Mexico, and five provinces in South America, 
formerly under the dominion of Spain. The vote in the house was nearly 
unanimous, and one hundred thousand dollars were appropriated to defray 
the expenses of envoys to those republics, who were soon afterward ap- 
pointed by the president. A bill was passed by Congress at this session, 
making an appropriation for continuing the Cumberland road, but was 
returned by the president, with his objections, which were that the con- 
stitution did not authorize such appropriations. 

But few acts of general interest were passed at the second session of 
the seventeenth Congress, which was held from the 2d of December, 1822, 
to the 3d of March, 1823. An additional naval force was authorized for 
the suppression of piracy ; the state of Ohio was authorized to construct 
a road from the lower rapids of the Miami of Lake Erie to the western 
boundary of the Connecticut western reserve, and the lands for one mile 
on each side of the road were granted to the state to aid in the construc- 
tion of the road ; an act of great length was also passed, directing the 
manner of doing business at the customhouses of the United States in the 
collection of duties. Certain sections of the act of May, 1820, prohibit- 
ing British vessels from the colonies to enter the ports of the United 
States, were suspended ; and the ports of the United States were declared 
open to British vessels from the ports in the British colonies and West 
India islands named in the acts. 

A bill was introduced in the senate by Colonel R. M. Johnson, of Ken- 
tucky, for abolishing imprisonment for debts due to the United States. 
This measure was advocated with zeal by the mover, and it was supported 
by several of the senators, but it was not adopted at this session. Colonel 
Johnson advocated it for several successive sessions, and it became a law 
in 1828. The question of additional duties on imports, particularly wool- 
len goods, was again agitated at this session, and debated with much 
warmth and zeal, but finally the bill to increase the duty on woollens was 
rejected. 

The subject of internal improvements was before Congress at this ses- 
sion, in various forms. It was proposed to cause surveys for canals across 
Cape Cod — from the river Raritan to the Delaware — from the Delaware 



238 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

to Chesapeake bay — from the Chesapeake to Albemarle sound— and from 
Lake Erie to the Ohio river. But the proposal was not sanctioned by 
Congress. The opposition was principally on the ground of unconstitu- 
tionality. A discussion also arose on the motion to appropriate money for 
the repairs of the Cumberland road. Large sums had been expended on 
that work, which was deemed of national importance, but it was then in 
such a state as to be nearly impassable in some parts. The president had 
intimated a willingness to favor a bill for repairing the road, though op- 
posed to extending it. The session closed without any definite action on 
the question. 

A convention of navigation and commerce was made and concluded be- 
tween the United States and France, in 1822 ; which was ratified by the 
president and senate, and a law passed by both houses of Congress to 
carry its provisions into effect. This treaty was negotiated by the secre- 
tary of state, John Quincy Adams, and the Baron Hyde de Neuville, min- 
ister plenipotentiary of the king of France. Efibrts had been made for a 
long time by the government of the United States, to form a treaty with 
France ; but the French court had manifested great reluctance to enter 
into a convention for the purpose. The trade of that nation did not suffer 
from want of such a treaty, but the United States lost many advantages 
by the omission. 

After the peace of 1815, the commerce and navigation of the United 
States did not reap all the advantages from that event which might justly have 
been hoped. A restrictive and monopolizing policy was adopted by both 
France and Great Britain ; and these countries derived great benefits from 
the trade to the United States, while reciprocal advantages were not real- 
ized by the merchants of the latter. It was a constant object, for some 
years, particularly in 1820-'22, with enlightened politicians in the Uni- 
ted States, who were favorable to commerce, to devise measures for re- 
moving the embarrassments produced by the policy of European powers ; 
or to make regulations respecting the navigation and trade of foreigners 
to American ports, which should prove to be countervailing, in some de- 
gree, of the restrictive system of those governments. The principal 
measures adopted by Congress, with this view, were proposed or advo- 
cated by Mr. Rufus King, a senator from the state of New York ; than 
whom no one in Congress was more active in favor of commerce, or had 
more correct and enlarged views on the subject.* 

As early as 1822, when three years of Mr, Monroe's second term as 
president were yet unexpired, the question relative to his successor 
already occupied most intensely the minds of politicians at Washington, 
disturbed legislation, and embarrassed the action of Congress. The ex- 
citement on the subject steadily increased at the seat of government, and 
rapidly spread through the nation. Of the several candidates spoken of 

• Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 239 

for president, none were supported or opposed on account of any particu- 
lar measures which they respectively advocated or condemned. The ques- 
tion about the selection of a candidate was, in fact, personal, not political ; 
but this circumstance, instead of rendering it less, caused it to be more 
exciting. The names of many gentlemen were mentioned as candidates, 
but the number gradually diminished, until the contest finally seemed to be 
confined to William H. Crawford, secretary of the treasury ; John Quincy 
Adams, secretary of state ; Henry Clay, speaker of the house of repre- 
sentatives ; John C. Calhoun, secretary of war ; and General Andrew 
Jackson, at that time a private citizen. Each of these candidates, during 
the war with Great Britain, were warm and efficient supporters of Mr. 
Madison's administration, and zealous members of the democratic party.* 

In this state of things, the elections for members of the eighteenth Con- 
gress took place. Most of the members, however, were chosen before 
the public mind had become fixed, in various parts of the country, on either 
of the candidates ; consequently the individual preferences of a large por- 
tion of the members of Congress were unknown to the people by whom 
they were elected. It was apparent to observing politicians, that the final 
choice of president would probably fall on Congress, in consequence of 
the number of candidates preventing a choice by the electoral colleges. 

It soon became evident that a large proportion of the old politicians of 
the democratic party had decided to support Mr. Crawford for the succes- 
sion. He had been, it will be recollected, a formidable candidate against 
Mr. Monroe in the congressional caucus in 1816. Since the election of 
the latter, Mr. Crawford had been a prominent member of his cabinet, aa 
secretary of the treasury, and it was well known that he would now be 
sustained by Virginia and Georgia, and it was believed that he would also 
be supported by most of the southern democracy. The general impres- 
sion among political men was, that a majority of the leading and influen- 
tial democrats in the Union concurred in the policy of supporting Mr. 
Crawford. Among these was Mr. Van Buren, then a senator in Congress 
from the state of New York, and a leading democrat in that state, with 
whom other prominent men of the same party acted, sufficient in power 
and influence, as it was thought, to give the electoral vote of the state to 
Mr. Crawford. 

Previous to the meeting of Congress, the annual election took place in 
the state of New York, in November, 1823, for members of the legisla- 
ture, by whom the electors of president were to be chosen. The result 
was unexpected and very unsatisfactory to the friends of Mr. Crawford, 
for although they claimed a majority of the members elect, yet the city 
and coimty of New York, and many other counties, had decided against 
them, and the anti-Crawford men likewise claimed a majority in the legisla- 
ture. The latter, moreover, rested their hopes of success on the passage 
* Hammoud's History of Parties. 



240 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

of a law by the legislature, giving the choice of electors to the people. 
This question, which was for many months agitated in New York, gave 
rise to what was called the people's party, which comprised in its ranks 
most of the people opposed to Mr. Crawford for the presidency. 

On the 1st day of December, 1823, the eighteenth Congress held their 
first session, which continued until the 26th of May, 1824. Mr. Clay, 
who was again elected a member from Kentucky, was chosen speaker of 
the house, by a large majority, over Mr. Barbour, speaker of the last 
Congress. 

The most important acts passed at this session were those relating to 
the protection of American manufactures, and internal improvement. The 
president was authorized to cause the necessary surveys, plans, and esti- 
mates, to be made of the routes of such roads and canals as he might 
deem of national importance, for which purpose the sum of thirty thou- 
sand dollars was appropriated. The president, after mature deliberation, 
changed his former views on the subject of internal improvements by the 
general government, and gave this bill his approval, which proved a model 
and precedent for future legislation on this subject. There was a very 
general opinion at that time in favor of internal improvements. The 
tariff act passed at this session was intended as a protection to American 
manufactures ; it raised the duties on many articles of imports from for- 
eign countries coming in contact with articles manufactured in the United 
States. It was the result of the combined efforts of the advocates of pro- 
tection to domestic industry throughout the Union, added to the recom- 
mendation of the president and the support of members of Congress prin- 
cipally from the northern, middle, and western states. The bill was de- 
bated for weeks in both houses, and called forth the first talent in Con- 
gress. The most strenuous opposition was made by the members from 
the southern states. Some northern members voted against the bill, be- 
cause they were dissatisfied with its details, rather than with its general 
principles. The majority in its favor in the senate was four, and in the 
house five only. 

An act was passed to provide for the extinguishment of the debt due to 
the United States by the purchasers of public lands, by which persons 
who had bought these lands on credit, of the United States, could receive 
a discharge of the debt, or part thereof, by relinquishing to the United 
States the lands so purchased, or part of the lands, according to the 
amount due. Donations of lands were granted to certain actual settlers 
in Florida. 

The state of Indiana was authorized to open a canal through the public 
lands, to connect the navigation of the waters of the Wabash river with 
those of Lake Erie ; and every section of land through which the said 
canal route might pass was reserved from future sale. The naturalization 
laws were amended so as to allow aliens being minors to become citizens 



ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 2i]. 

of the United States after arriving at the age of twenty-one years, provided 
they had resided five years in the United States. 

The presidential question was at this time the all-absorbing subject of 
interest, both among members of Congress and the people. One great 
point, about which the members of Congress Avere divided, was whether 
an attempt should be made to nominate candidates for president and vice- 
president by a congressional caucus, as had been the uniform practice of 
the democratic party. The friends of Mr. Crawford, with Mr. "Van Buren 
at their head, were in favor of a caucus, and disposed to denounce all 
those who were opposed to this mode, which they called " regular nomi- 
nation," as enemies of the democratic party. A committee of 'members 
■opposed to Mr. Crawford stated, in the National Intelligencer newspaper, 
that of two hundred and sixty-one members, it was ascertained one hun- 
dred and eighty-one were opposed to a caucus ; and it was added, that 
many others would not attend should such a meeting be called. 

Notwithstanding this statement, a meeting of the democratic members of 
Congress was called by the friends of Mr. Crawford, and on the Hthof Feb- 
ruary, 1824, the assemblage took place. Only sixty-six members attended, of 
whom forty-eight were from the four states of New York, Virginia, North 
Carolina, and Georgia. On a ballot for president, Mr. Crawford received 64 
votes, Mr. Adams 2, General Jackson l,and Mr. Macon, of North Caroli- 
na, 1 . Mr. Gallatin was nominated for vice-president, but afterward declined. 

The issue of this attempt to nominate Mr. Crawford proved injurious to 
his prospects, and about the same time his health became so much im- 
paired that serious doubts were entertained of his capability on that account 
to perform the duties of the office of president in case of his election. In 
the state of New York the Crawford party became very unpopular, in con- 
sequence of some of their leading men having rejected a law proposed by 
the people's party in the legislature, providing for the choice of presi- 
dential electors by the people. The electors in the state of New York 
were therefore chosen by the legislature ; but owing principally to the ef- 
forts of General Jarnes Tallmadge, the champion of the people's party in the 
legislaturfe on that occasion, with the aid of Mr. Henry Wheaton and other 
zealous members of that body, the friends of Mr. Crawford met with an 
unexpected defeat, and the electoral vote of the state was given as fol- 
lows : for Adams 26, for Crawford 5, for Clay 4, for Jackson 1. 

This election in New York, with the result in other states, showed that 
no choice had been made for president by the electoral colleges, and ac- 
cording to the provisions of the constitution, the decision was referred to 
the house of representatives. The total votes of the colleges of electors 
for president, were, for Jackson 99, Adams 84, Crawford 41, Clay 37. 
John C. Calhoun was elected vice-president, having received 182 votes, 
against 78 for all others. The choice of president by the house of repre- 
sentatives was, as the constitution requires, confined to the three highest 
16 



242 ADMINISTRATION OF MONROE. 

candidates. The election by the house was held in February, 1825, when 
Mr. Adams received the votes of 13 states on the first ballot, General Jack- 
son 7 states, and Mr. Cravpford 4 states. John Quincy Adams was there- 
fore declared elected president of the United States for four years, from 
the 4th of March, 1825. 

The second session of the eighteenth Congress was held from the 6th of 
December, 1824, to the expiration of their term on the 3d of March, 1825. 
But few acts of general interest were passed ; among them was one to re- 
duce into one the several acts regulating the postoffice department. An 
act was also passed respecting drawbacks of duties on goods re-exported ; 
another td provide for the punishment of certain crimes against the United 
States ; and an act concerning wrecks on the coast of Florida 

A resolution was offered in the senate, in February, 1825, by Mr. King, 
of New York, proposing that after the payment of the public debt, for 
which the public lands were pledged, should be made, the proceeds of the 
sales should be applied to the emancipation of such slaves within any of 
the United States, and to aid in the removal of such free persons of color 
as by the laws of any state were allowed to be emancipated or removed, 
to any territory without the limits of the United States. The resolution, 
which did not receive the sanction of the senate, was not designed to in- 
terfere with the laws and usages of any state relating to slaves. Had it 
been adopted, the effect would have been similar to that the Colonization 
Society have in view ; and would have secured funds for the purpose. 

The last year of Mr. Monroe's administration was distinguished by the 
visit to the United States of the Marquis de Lafayette, the friend and ally 
of the Americans during their struggle with Great Britain in the war of 
the revolution. 

The administration of Mr. Monroe, which closed on the 3d of March, 
1825, was eminently prosperous and advantageous to the nation. At no 
period in our history has party spirit been so much subdued, and the at- 
tention of the national legislature more exclusively devoted to objects of 
public benefit. In the language of his successor, Mr. Adams, President 
Monroe " strengthened his country for defence, by a system of combined 
fortifications, military and naval, sustaining her rights, her dignity and 
honor abroad ; soothing her dissensions, and conciliating her acerbities at 
home ; controlling by a firm though peaceful policy, the hostile spirit of 
the European alliance against republican Southern America ; extorting, by 
the mild compulsion of reason, the shores of the Pacific from the stipula- 
ted acknowledgment of Spain ; and leading back the Imperial Autocrat 
of the north, to his lawful boundaries, from his hastily-asserted dominion 
over the southern ocean. Thus strengthening and consolidating the fed- 
erative edifice of his country's union, till he was entitled to say, like Augus- 
tus Caesar of his imperial city, that he had found her build of brick, and 
left her constructed of marble." 




B-n^^ijTBalct from aPaiatm^iyD-nraTia. 



S, 5, Ada/yn^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



k 



When the constitution of the United States was formed, in 1787, and 
the question of its adoption was before the people, the opponents of a con- 
solidated government, and those who preferred the old confederation, rep- 
resented the executive established by the constitution, as the chief of 
an elective monarchy. Mr. Jefferson considered him a bad edition of a Po- 
lish king, as he expressed it. But no one apprehended any danger of the 
office of president ever becoming hereditary. It is, however, a curious 
circumstance, that the only one of the first five presidents of the United 
States who had a son, should have lived to see his eldest son elected to 
the presidency. It must not from this be supposed that the circumstances 
of the birth and family of John Quincy Adams had any influence in con- 
tributing to his elevation to the same high office which his father had 
previously filled. On the contrary, the jealousy of the American people 
on the subject of any supposed preference in consequence of family or 
rank, probably operated to the prejudice of Mr. Adams, and diminished 
the popular support which he would otherwise have received ; for no 
American was ever more fully qualified by talents and education for the 
various important stations which he has been called to fill, than the dis- 
tinguished statesman who is the subject of the present memoir. 

Born in the year 1767, on the 11th day of July, at the mansion of his 
father, John Adams, who then resided in Boston, although the family-seat 
was in the present town of Quincy, Massachusetts, John Quincy Adams 
(who afterward became the sixth president of the United States) took the 
name of John Quincy, his great grandfather, who bore a distinguished part 
in the councils of the province, at the commencement of the eighteenth 
century.* 

In the very dawn of his existence the principles of American indepen- 
dence and freedom were instilled into the mind of the younger Adams. 

* A part of this sketch is an abstract of a memoir of Mr. Adams {>ublishe(l in 1828. 



244 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

Both his father and mother were the most zealous promoters of the cause 
%of their country in the struggle with Great Britain. When the father of 
Mr. Adams repaired to France as joint commissioner with Franklin and Lee, 
he was accompanied by his son John Quincy, then in his eleventh year. 
In that country he passed a year and a half with his father, and enjoyed 
the privilege of the daily intercourse and parental attentions of Doctor 
Franklin, whose kind notice of the young was a peculiar trait in his char- 
acter, and whose primitive simplicity of manners and methodical habits 
left a lasting impression on the mind of his youthful countryman. 

After a residence of about eighteen months in France, young Adams 
returned to America with his father, who assisted in forming a constitu- 
tion for Massachusetts, but was soon called upon again by Congress to 
repair to Europe, as a commissioner for negotiating treaties with Holland 
and other powers, but particularly with Great Britain, as soon as she was 
disposed to put an end to the war. 

He again took his son with him, and sailed in a French frigate, which 
• in consequence of springing a dangerous leak, was compelled to put into 
Ferrol, in Spain. From that place Mr. Adams and his son travelled by 
land to Paris, where they arrived in January, 1780. For a few months 
Mr. Adams sent his son to school in Paris ; but in July, the same year, he 
took him with him to Holland, where he was called to negotiate a loan 
for the United States. He placed his son first in the public school of the 
city of Amsterdam, and afterward in the city university of Leyden. In 
July, 1781, Mr. Francis Dana (afterward chief-justice of the state of Mas- 
sachusetts), who had gone out with Mr. Adams as secretary of legation, 
received from the continental Congress the appointment of minister to the 
court of the empress of Russia, and John Quincy Adams was selected by 
Mr. Dana as a private secretary of this mission. After spending four- 
teen months with Mr. Dana, he left him to return through Sweden, Den- 
mark, Hamburg, and Bremen, to Holland, where his father had been pub- 
licly received as minister from the United States, and had concluded a 
commercial treaty with the republic of the Netherlands. He performed 
this journey during the winter of 1782-'3, being only sixteen years of age, 
without a companion. He reached the Hague in April, 1783, his father 
being at that time engaged at Paris in the negotiation of peace. From 
April to July his son remained at the Hague, under the care of Mr. Du- 
mas, a native of Switzerland, who then filled the office of an agent of the 
United States. The negotiations for peace being suspended in July, Mr. 
Adams's father repaired on business to Amsterdam ; and on his return to 
Paris he took his son with him. The definitive treaty of peace was 
signed in September, 1783, from which time till May, 1785, he was chiefly 
with his father in England, Holland, and France. 

It was at this period that he formed an acquaintance with Mr. Jefferson, 
then residing in Trance as American minister. The intercourse of Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 245 

Jefferson with his former coUeague in Congress, the father of Mr. Adams, 
•was of an intimate and confidential kind, and led to a friendship for his 
son which, formed in early life, scarcely suffered an interruption from sub- 
sequent political dissensions, and revived with original strength during the 
last years of the life of this venerable statesman. 

Mr. Adams was, at the period last mentioned, about eighteen years of 
age. Born in the crisis of his country's fortunes, he had led a life of 
wandering and vicissitude, unusual at any age. His education, in every- 
thing but the school of liberty, had been interrupted and irregular. He 
had seen much of the world — much of men — and had enjoyed but little 
leisure for books. Anxious to complete his education, and still more anx- 
ious to return to his native land, when his father was, in 1785, appointed 
minister to the court of St. James, his son, at that period of life when the 
pleasures and splendor of a city like London are most calculated to fasci- 
nate and mislead, asked permission of his father to go back to his native 
shores. This he accordingly did. On his return to America he became 
a member of the ancient college of Harvard, at Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, where he graduated in July, 1787. 

On leaving college, Mr. Adams entered the office of Theophilus Par- 
sons, afterward chief justice of the state, as a student of law, at Newbu- 
ryport. On a visit of General Washington to that town, in 1789, Mr. 
Parsons, being chosen by his fellow-citizens to be the medium of expres- 
sing their sentiments to the general, called upon his pupils each to pre- 
pare an address. This call was obeyed by Mr. Adams, and his address 
was delivered by Mr. Parsons. 

After completing his law studies, at Newburyport, Mr. Adams removed 
to Boston, with view of commencing the practice of his profession at the 
bar. His time not being fully occupied, Mr. Adams employed his leisure 
hours in speculations upon the great political questions of the day. 

In April, 1793, on the first intimation that war between Great Britain 
and France had been declared, Mr. Adams published a short series of 
papers, the object of which was, to prove that the duty and interest of the 
United States required them to remain neutral in the contest. These 
papers were published before General Washington's proclamation of 
neutrality, and without any knowledge that a proclamation would be 
issued. The opinions they expressed were in opposition to the views 
generally prevailing, that the treaty of alliance of 1778 obliged us to take 
part in the wars of France. But the proclamation of neutrality by Gen- 
eral Washington, sanctioned by all his cabinet, including Mr. Jefferson, 
was shortly made public, and confirmed the justice of the views which 
Mr. Adams had been (it is believed) the first to express before the public 
on this new and difficult topic of national law. 

In the whiter of 1793 and 1794, the inflammatory appeals of the French 
minister to the United States, Mr. Genet, caused much excitement in the 



246 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q, ADAMS. 

public mind. Among those who co-operated in support of the admin- 
istration of Washington in resisting Mr. Genet, none was more conspicu- 
ous than Mr. Adams, whose essays in favor of neutrality were read and 
admired throughout the country. 

His reputation was soon established, as an American statesman and 
political writer. Before his retirement from the department of state, Mr. 
Jefferson recommended him to General Washington, as a proper person 
to be introduced into the public service of the country. Tiie acquaintance 
between Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams which had been formed in France, 
had lately been renewed, on occasion of a visit to Philadelphia in 1792 ; 
and the promptitude and ability with which he had seconded the efforts 
of the secretary of state in enforcing neutrality, no doubt led Mr. Jeffer- 
son thus to recommend him to General Washington. 

The publications of Mr. Adams above alluded to, had attracted the at- 
tention of General Washington. He had in private expressed the high- 
est opinion of them, and had made particular inquiries with respect to 
their author. Thus honorably identified, at the early age of twenty-seven, 
with the first great and decisive step of the foreign policy of the United 
States, and thus early attracting the notice, and enjoying the confidence 
of Washington, Mr. Adams was, in May, 1794, appointed minister resi- 
dent to the Netherlands, an office corresponding in rank and salary with 
that of a charge d'affaires at the present day. The father of .Mr. Adams 
was at this time vice-president of the United States ; but the appointment 
of his son was made by General Washington, unexpectedly to the vice- 
president, and without any previous intimation that it would take place. 

Mr. Adams remained at his post in Holland about two years. He was 
an attentive observer of the great events then occurring in Europe, and 
his official correspondence with the government was regarded by General 
Washington as of the highest importance. 

Toward the close of General Washington's administration, he appointed 
Mr. Adams minister plenipotentiary to Portugal. On his way from the 
Hague to Lisbon, he received a new commission, changing his destination 
to Berlin. This latter appointment was made by Mr. Adams's father, then 
president of the United States, and in a manner highly honorable to the 
restraint of his parental feelings, in the discharge of an act of public duty. 
Although Mr. Adams's appointment to Portugal was made by General 
Washington, and President Adams did no more than propose his transfer 
to Berlin, yet feelings of delicacy led him to hesitate, before he took 
even this step. He consulted his predecessor and friend, then retired 
from office, and placed in a situation beyond the reach of any of the mo- 
tives which can possibly prejudice the minds of men in power. The fol- 
lowing letter from General Washington, is the reply to President Adams's 
inquiry, and will ever remain an honorable testimony to the character of 
Mr. Adams : — 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 247 

" Monday, February 20, 1797. 

" Dear Sir : I thank you for giving me a perusal of the enclosed. The 
sentiments do honor to the head and heart of the writer ; and if my wishes 
would be of any avail, they should go to you in a strong hope that you 
will not withhold merited promotion from John Q. Adams because he is 
your son. For, without intending to compliment the father or the mother, 
or to censure any others, I give it as my decided opinion, that Mr. Adams 
is the most valuable public character we have abroad ; and that there re- 
mains no doubt in my mind, that he will prove himself to be the ablest of 
all our diplomatic corps. If he was now to be brought into that line, or 
into any other public walk, I could not, upon the principle which has reg- 
ulated my own conduct, disapprove of the caution which is hinted at in. 
the letter. But he is already entered ; the public, more and more, as he 
is known, are appreciating his talents and worth ; and his country would 
sustain a loss, if these were to be checked by over-delicacy on your part. 
" With sincere esteem, and affectionate regard, 

" I am ever yours, 

" George Washington." 

The principal object of Mr. Adams's mission to Berlin was effected by 
the conclusion of a treaty of commerce with Prussia. He remained at 
that court till the spring of 1801, when he was recalled by his father, and 
returned to America. During the last year of his residence in Prussia, 
he made an excursion into the province of Silesia, which he described in 
a series of letters that were afterward collected and published in a volume, 
and have been translated into French and German, and extensively circu- 
lated in Europe. In March, 1798, while he was at Berlin, he was ap- 
pointed by the president and senate, commissioner to renew the treaty 
with Sweden. 

The advantages enjoyed by Mr. Adams, during his residence on the 
continent of Europe, from 1794 to 1801, he did not fail to improve, and 
they were of great importance in extending his political knowledge, and 
in their influence upon his character and feelings. He contemplated with 
the eye of a careful observer the great movements in the political world 
which were then taking place, and which included many of the most im- 
portant events of the French revolution. A combination of peculiar cir- 
cumstances enabled him to hold an important and truly American course 
between the violent extremes to which public opinion in America ran, on 
the great question of our foreign relations. It was also fortunate that he 
was absent from the country during the period when domestic parties 
were organized and arrayed against each other. His situation secured 
him from the necessity of taking part in those political contentions in 
which he must either have been placed in the painful position of acting 
with the party opposed to his father, or he would have been obliged to 
eflcouiUer the natural imputation of being biased in support of him by 



248 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

filial attachment. From this alternative Mr. Adams was spared by his 
residence abroad during the whole period in which our domestic parties 
were acquiring their organization ; and he returned to his native land a 
stranger to local parties, and a friend to his country. 

In 1802, Mr. Adams was elected to the senate of Massachusetts from 
the district of Boston ; and signalized that fearless independence which 
has ever characterized his political course, by his strong, though ineffec- 
tual opposition to a powerful combination of banking interests, of which 
the centre was placed among his immediate constituents. 

In 1803, he was elected by the legislature of Massachusetts, a senator 
of the United States. There was a federal majority in that body, but Mr. 
Adams was not elected by a party vote. He was considered a moderate 
federalist, but, when elected, was unpledged, either as to opposition or 
support, to any men or measures other than those which his own sense of 
duty should dictate to him to be supported or opposed. 

His conduct in the United States senate was such as might have 
been expected from his position. He neither had principles to permit, 
nor passions to drive him into indiscriminate opposition or blind support. 
He supported the administration of Mr. Jefferson in every measure which 
his judgment approved. With the democratic party in the senate he vo- 
ted for the embargo recommended by Mr. Jefferson, believing that the hos- 
tile decrees of France and England against American commerce called for 
retaliatory or restrictive measures. For his course in this particular, Mr. 
Adams was censured by the legislature of Massachusetts, in a series of 
resolutions passed by that body, which also, in May, 1808, elected Mr. 
Lloyd as senator from the period of the expiration of Mr. Adams's term. 
Not choosing to represent constituents who had lost their confidence in 
him, Mr. Adams resigned his place in the senate of the United States. 

The support of a man holding the position and possessing the talents 
of Mr. Adams, was peculiarly acceptable to the administration of Mr. Jef- 
ferson, at a crisis when a defection in the ranks of the democratic party 
wore an alarming aspect to those in power. His course was, however, 
severely censured by his former political friends, the federalists of Mas- 
sachusetts, who considered his support of the embargo, and other meas- 
ures of Mr. Jefferson's administration, as an act of separation from the 
federal party. His father had previously indicated similar views to those 
of his son, and finally became a zealous supporter of democratic men and 
measures. 

Previous to retiring from the senate of the United States, namely, in 
1806, Mr. Adams was called to the chair of rhetoric and oratory in Har- 
vard college, and delivered a course of lectures on the art of speaking 
well ; an important art to the youth of a free country. 

But Mr. Adams was not destined to remain long in retirement. Soon 
after the accession of Mr. Madison to the presidency, he appointed Mr. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 249 

Adams, with the senate's concurrence, in June, 1809, minister plenipo- 
tentiary to the court of the emperor of Russia. He was the first minister 
from the United States to that country. Mr. Jefferson, perceiving the 
importance to the United States of both political amity and commercial 
intercourse with the great Russian empire, sent Levett Harris as American 
consul to St. Petersburg, through whom a correspondence ensued between 
the Russian emperor and the American president, which began the good 
relations that have subsisted without interruption between the two coun- 
tries. One of the last acts of Mr. Jefferson's administration was to nomi- 
nate an envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Russia, whom 
the senate rejected. 

The emperor Alexander, who was then on the throne of Russia, 
was one of the most remarkable men of the age ; well educated, 
well informed, liberal, and generous, he regarded the United States 
with such kindness that, on the most despotic thrope in the old world, 
he freely expressed his admiration of the republican institutions of the 
new.* 

The intelligence of the declaration of war by the United States against 
Great Britain, was known in Russia in September, 1812. Mr. Adctms 
had the good fortune to acquire the confidence of the emperor, v.'ho ad- 
mitted him to a degree of intimacy rarely enjoyed with despotic monarchs, 
even by their own ministers. On the 20th of September, 1812, the Rus- 
sian minister Romanzoff informed Mr. Adams that, having made peace 
with Great Britain, the emperor was much concerned and disappointed to 
find the commercial benefits which he expected his subjects would derive 
from that event, defeated and lost by the war between the United States 
and Great Britain. He therefore suggested a settlement of the difliculties 
by mediation, offering himself to act as mediator, in terms of great good- 
will, which Mr. Adams met and answered with corresponding cordiality. 
In the course of his conversation with the Russian minister, the Ameri- 
can envoy stated that he knew his government engaged in the war with 
reluctance ; that it would be highly injurious, both to the United States 
and to England ; that he could see no good result as likely to arise from 
it to any one. The minister from Russia to the United States was di- 
rected to proffer the mediation to the American government, which was 
formally accepted in March, 1813, by the latter, but it was declined by the 
British government. It was unquestionably owing to the confidential re- 
lation between Mr. Adams and the emperor, that the mediation of Russia 
was tendered ; and though it was declined by England, the mediation pro- 
duced an offer from that country to treat directly with the United States, 
and thus led to peace. 

It was for this reason that Mr. Adams was placed at the head of the 
five coramissioaers by whom the treaty of peace was negotiated at Ghent, 

• Ingersoll. 



250 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

in 1814 ; his associates on that commission being James A. Bayard, 
Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin. 

The skill with which that negotiation was conducted, is well known. 
Mr. Adams bore a full part in its counsels and labors ; and a proportion- 
ate share of the credit is due to him for that cogency and skill which 
drew from the marquis of Wellesley, in the British house of lords, the 
declaration, that " in his opinion the American commissioners had shown 
the most astonishing superiority over the British, during the whole of the 
correspondence." 

This tribute is the more honorable to Mr. Adams and his colleagues, 
from the circumstance that, on every important point, the British commis- 
sioners received special instructions from the ministry at London, direct- 
ing the terms in which the American envoys were to be answered. 

Having borne this distinguished part, in bringing the war to a close by 
an honorable peace, Mr. Adams was employed, in conjunction with 
Messrs. Clay gaid Gallatin, in negotiating a convention of commerce with 
Great Britain, on the basis of which our commercial intercourse with that 
country has since been conducted. 

On the 28th of February, 1815, Mr. Madison gave a further proof of 
his confidence in Mr. Adams, by appointing him (with the consent of the 
senate) minister to Great Britain, and he continued to represent the United 
States at that court until the accession of Mr. Monroe to the presidency, 
in March, 1817. 

In the formation of his cabinet, Mr. Monroe consulted with several of 
the most distinguished of his friends, among others with General Jack- 
son, to whom he wrote as follows : " I shall take a person for the de- 
partment of state from the eastward ; and Mr. Adams's long service in 
our diplomatic concerns appearing to entitle him to the preference, sup- 
ported by his acknowledged talents and integrity, his nomination will go to 
the senate." To this General Jackson replied : " I have no hesitation in 
saying, you have made the best selection to fill the department of state 
that could be made. Mr. Adams in the hour of difficulty will be an able 
helpmate, and I am convinced his appointment will afford general satis- 
faction." 

In pursuance of the above intimation of Mr. Monroe, Mr. Adams was 
called home from England, and appointed secretary of state in March, 
1817. On this arduous office he entered with the general approbation of 
the people. During the eight years of Mr. Monroe's administration, Mr. 
Adams remained in the department of state, retaining the entire confi- 
dence of Mr. Monroe, and acquiring that of his colleagues in the cabinet. 
In reference to all questions of the foreign relations of the country, he 
was the influential member of the government ; and is, consequently, more 
than any other individual connected with the executive, entitled to the credit 
of the measures which, during Mr. Monroe's administration, were adopted 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 251 

in reference to the foreign policy of the government. One of the most im- 
portant of these measures was the recognition of the independence of the 
new republics of Spanish America. The credit of first effectually propo- 
sing that measure in the house of representatives is due to Mr. Clay, 
while speaker of that body ; that of choosing the propitious moment when 
it could be proposed with the unanimous consent of Congress, and the 
nation, belongs to Mr. Adams. Nor is he entitled to less credit for the 
successful termination of our differences with Spain. A controversy of 
thirty years' standing, which had resisted the skill of every preceding 
administration of the government, was brought to an honorable close. In- 
demnity was procured for our merchants, and East and West Florida ad- 
ded to our republic. Next to the purchase of Louisiana, the acquisition 
of Florida may be viewed as one of the most important measures in our 
history as a nation. Among his reports while secretary of state, may be 
mentioned that on weights and measures, made to the United States sen- 
ate in 1821, in conformity with a resolution of that body, passed in 1817. 
This report is distinguished for its ability and research. 

On every important occasion and question that arose during Mr. Mon- 
roe's administration, the voice of Mr. Adams was for his country, for 
mild councils, and for union. In the agitation of the Missouri question, 
his influence was exerted for conciliation. He believed that by the con- 
stitution and the treaty of cession of 1803, Congress was barred from 
adopting the proposed restrictions on the admission of Missouri. Of in- 
ternal improvement by roads and canals, he was ever the friend, and 
moved in the senate of the United States the first project of their system- 
atic construction. 

When the question of a successor to Mr. Monroe in the presidency be- 
came the subject of agitation, the claims of Mr. Adams to that high ofiice 
were admitted to be strong and decided, by a large portion of his coun- 
trymen. His elevation was desired by a numerous body of calm, re- 
flecting men, throughout the Union, who desired to see the government 
administered with the ability and integrity which belonged, as they knew, 
to the character of Mr. Adams. The other rival candidates for the presi- 
dency, Andrew Jackson, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay, also pre- 
sented severally strong claims for the support of the people. Of these 
several candidates, Mr. Adams was the only one who represented the 
non-slaveholding interest, and he was the second choice of an immense 
proportion of the people, who, for various causes, preferred one of the 
other candidates. 

In consequence of the number in nomination for president, no choice 
was effected by the electoral colleges, and neither candidate approached 
nearer than within thirty-two votes of a majority. General Jackson re- 
ceived 99 votes, Mr. Adams 84, Mr. Crawford 41, and Mr. Clay 37. For 
the vice-presidency, John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, received 183 



252 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

votes, and was consequently elected. The choice of the president, ac- 
cording to constitutional provisions, was referred to the house of repre- 
sentatives, and, contrary to general expectation, an election was made on 
the first ballot ; Mr. Adams having received the votes of thirteen states. 
General Jackson seven states, and Mr. Crawford four states. In this 
election by the house, Mr. Clay and his friends having voted for Mr. Ad- 
ams, great indignation was expressed by the supporters of General Jack- 
son, but the friends of Mr. Crawford, generally, at first appeared satisfied 
with the result, as they preferred Mr. Adams to General Jackson, and the 
health of Mr. Crawford was then so precarious as to render him nearly, if 
not quite, incompetent for the office. 

A committee of the house was appointed to wait on Mr. Adams and no- 
tify him of his election to the presidency ; to this notification he made the 
following reply : — 

" Gentlemen : In receiving this testimonial from the representatives 
of the people, and states of this Union, I am deeply sensible to the cir- 
cumstances under which it has been given. All my predecessors in the 
high station to which the favor of the house now calls me, have been hon- 
ored with majorities of the electoral voices in their primary colleges. It 
has been my fortune to be placed, by the divisions of sentiment prevailing 
among our countrymen on this occasion, in competition, friendly and hon- 
orable, with three of my fellow-citizens, all justly enjoying, in an eminent 
degree, the public favor ; and of whose worth, talents, and services, no 
one entertains a higher and more respectful sense than myself. The 
names of two of them were, in the fulfilment of the provisions of the 
constitution, presented to the selection of the house, in concurrence with 
my own ; names closely associated with the glory of the nation, and one 
of them further recommended by a larger majority of the primary electo- 
ral suffrages than mine. 

" In this state of things, could my refusal to accept the trust thus dele- 
gated to me, give an immediate opportunity to the people to form and to 
express with a nearer approach to unanimity, the object of their prefer- 
ence, I should not hesitate to decline the acceptance of this eminent 
charge, and to submit the decision of this momentous question again to 
their determination. But the constitution itself has not so disposed of the 
contingency which would arise in the event of my refusal ; I shall, there- 
fore, repair to the post assigned me by the call of my country signified 
through her constitutional organs ; oppressed with the magnitude of the 
task before me, but cheered with the hope of that generous support from 
my fellow-citizens which, in the vicissitudes of a life devoted to their ser- 
vice, has never failed to sustain me — confident in the trust, that the wis- 
dom of the legislative councils will guide and direct me in the path of my 
official duty, and relying, above all, upon the superintending providence of 
that Being, in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 253 

" Gentlemen, I pray you to make acceptable to the house the assurance 
of my profound gratitude for their confidence, and to accept yourselves my 
thanks for the friendly terms in which you have communicated to me theii 
decision." 

The administration of Mr. Adams as president of the United States, 
commenced on the 4th of March, 1825, and continued four years. A com- 
bination having taken place immediately after the election, of a majority of 
the friends of Mr. Crawford with those of General Jackson, it was soon appa- 
rent that the new administration was destined to meet with a systematic 
and violent opposition. Every effort on the part of Mr. Adams to con- 
ciliate his opponents, and to conduct the public affairs with integrity and 
usefulness, proved ineffectual to turn the torrent of popular opinion which 
set steadily against him. In the third year of his term the administration 
was in the minority in both branches of Congress, and the opposition be- 
ing concentrated on General Jackson as a candidate for president, he was 
in 1828 elected, by a large majority, over Mr. Adams. 

In March, 1829, Mr. Adams retired to private life, carrying with him 
the esteem of his political friends, and the respect of his opponents, who 
generally gave him the credit of good intentions, however they might have 
differed with him in his views of public policy. While holding the high 
office of president, he uniformly declined the exercise of a prescriptive 
spirit toward those of his political opponents whom he found in office ; 
magnanimously conceding to all the right of exercising their own free will 
in the choice of rulers, and in supporting or opposing the administration. 

After the inauguration of his successor. General Jackson, Mr. Adams 
continued a short time at Washington city. He then repaired to his family 
mansion, and the scenes of his early youth, at Quincy, near Boston, Mas- 
sachusetts, where, in the possession of a competent fortune, and in the 
enjoyment of the pleasures of domestic life with his family, he might have 
expected to pass the remainder of his days. But the people of his own 
immediate neighborhood were not willing to allow him to remain long in 
retirement. In 1830 he was elected to represent the district in which he 
resided, in the Congress of the United States, and the following year, 
namely, in December, 1831, he took his seat in the house of representa- 
tives at Washington city, being then in the 65th year of his age, and hav- 
ing already passed about forty years in the public service. 

In the national legislature, he took and maintained the stand to which 
his eminent talents and distinguished services entitled him. The confi- 
dence of his constituents, was manifested by continued re-elections to the 
house of representatives, of which he was a constant member until his 
death, a period of more than sixteen years. 

His reports as chairman of committees on various subjects, particularly 
on those of manufactures and finance, are among the ablest papers to be 
found among the national records. He distinguished himself especially 



254 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF J. Q. ADAMS. 

on the organization of the twenty-sixth Congress, in December, 1839, 
when difficulties of a novel character occurred, in consequence of dispu- 
ted seats from the state of New Jersey, which prevented for many days 
the choice of a speaker. On that occasion Mr. Adams was chosen, by 
unanimous consent, chairman of the house while it was in a state of con- 
fusion and disorder. By his skill and influence, he was enabled to calm 
the turbulent elements of a disorganized house, and to bring about a settle- 
ment of the difficulties which threatened the dissolution of the government. 

Perhaps the most striking feature of Mr. Adams's career as a member 
of the house of representatives, was his firm adherence to the right of the 
people to petition Congress, and to be heard through their representatives, 
on any subject whatsoever. He took an active part in debate, on nearly 
every topic of public interest, and his speeches were frequently marked 
with the most fervid eloquence. 

The private character of Mr. Adams was always above reproach, in 
his intercourse with his fellow-men, and in all the various duties of a long 
life. Without any uncommon professions, he uniformly evinced great 
respect for the Christian religion, and, like his father, gave a preference 
to the doctrines of the unitarian church. 

In a biographical sketch of Mr. Adams, written for the first edition of 
the Statesman's Manual in 1846, we made use of the following words: 
*' The subject of this memoir is still found at his post in the public ser- 
vice, where, like the earl of Chatham, it may be expected his mortal ca- 
reer will finally close." 

What was then a thought, in advance of a probable result, became an 
historical fact in 1848. On the twenty-second of February (the birthday 
of Washington), in that year Mr. Adams was prostrated by paralysis, 
while in his seat in the house of representatives, and yielded up his spirit 
to his Maker on the following day (February 23, 1848), being then in 
his eighty-first year. He died in the speaker's room in the capitol, and 
his last words were, " This is the last of earth." A committee of mem- 
bers of Congress accompanied his remains to the family burying-ground 
at Quincy, due honors being paid to his memory in the principal cities and 
towns, through which the corpse was carried to its final resting-place. 

Mr. Adams was of middle stature, and full person, his eyes dark and 
piercing, and beaming with intelligence. He always led an active life, 
and enjoyed good health to an advanced age, his health being promoted, 
doubtless, by his early rising and bodily exercise. His mind was highly- 
cultivated, and he was considered one of the most accomplished scholars 
and statesmen in America. 

Mr. Adams, in May, 1797, was married to Louisa Catherine, daughter 
of Joshua Johnson, Esq., of Maryland, who then resided in London. By 
this lady, who survives him, he had four children, three sons and one 
daughter, of whom one only, Charles F. Adams of Boston, is now living. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 



The inauguration- of John Quincy Adams as president of the United 
States, took place on the 4th of March, 1825. At about half-past twelve 
o'clock on that day he was introduced into the capitol, followed by the ex- 
president, Mr. Monroe, and his family, by the judges of the supreme court, 
in their robes of office, and the members of the senate, preceded by the 
vice-president, with a number of members of the house of representatives. 
Mr. Adams, in a plain suit of black, ascended the steps to the speaker's 
chair, and took his seat. Silence having been proclaimed, and the doors 
of the hall closed, the president elect rose and delivered his inaugural ad- 
dress to the assembled multitude, by whom it was received with ' great 
attention and interest. 

After delivering this address, Mr. Adams descended from the chair, and 
placing himself on the righthand of the judge's table, received from Chief- 
Justice Marshall a volume of the laws of the United States, from which 
he read the oath of office, at the close of which, the house rang with the 
cheers and plaudits of the immense audience. 

The senate being in session, the president immediately nominated the 
members of his cabinet, namely : Henry Clay, of Kentucky, for secretary of 
state ; Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, secretary of the treasury ; James Bar- 
bour, of Virginia, secretary of war. These nominations were all confirmed, 
and unanimously, except that of Mr. Clay, to which a warm opposition 
was made on the part of a few senators, and the injunction of secresy 
being removed, the votes appeared to have been twenty-seven in favor, and 
fourteen against it. S. L. Southard, as secretary of the navy, and Will- 
iam Wirt, as attorney-general, were continued in office. John M'Lean, 
of Ohio, postmaster-general (not then a member of the cabinet), who had 
been appointed by Mr. Monroe, was also continued in office. 

After disposing of the nominations made by the executive, the senate 
took into consideration the tfeaty made with the republic of Colombia, for 
th© suppression of the slave-trade. This treaty was made in conformity 
with a resolution of the house of representatives, recommending to the 
executive to make treaties, giving the mutual right of search of vessels in 
suspected parts of the world, in order more effectually to prevent the 



256 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

traffic in slaves. The amendments proposed by the senate, at the last 
session, to the treaty with Great Britain, for the same purpose, were in- 
troduced into this treaty ; but the fate of the tieaty with England had prob- 
ably caused a change in the minds of some of the senators, and other 
views had been taken of the subject by others, and the treaty with Colom- 
bia was rejected by 28 votes to 12. 

The divisions which had been taken on the foregoing questions, in the 
senate, left little doubt that the new administration was destined to meet 
with a systematic and organized opposition ; and previous to the next meet- 
ing of Congress, the ostensible grounds of opposition were set forth at 
public dinners and meetings, so as to prepare the community for a warm 
political contest, until the next election. 

Those who placed themselves in opposition to the administration, with- 
out reference to its measures, urged as reasons for their hostility, that Mr. 
Adams's election was the result of a bargain between Mr. Clay and him- 
self ; and his selection of Mr. Clay as secretary of state, was relied upon 
as a conclusive proof of the bargain ; that he was elected against the ex- 
pressed will of the people ; and that Congress, by not taking General 
Jackson, the candidate having the highest number of votes, had violated 
the constitution, and disobeyed their constituents. Personal objections 
were also urged, but as these formed no part of the justification of the 
opposition which was to be arrayed in anticipation of measures, it is un- 
necessary to give them a place. Those who were friendly to the new 
administration, or disposed to judge of it by its acts, replied to these ob- 
jections, that Mr. Clay, as a representative, was obliged to decide between 
three candidates for the presidency, and that his vote was in accordance 
with all his previous declarations ; that his own situation as a candidate 
who might possibly succeed, rendered it unsuitable for him to express any 
preference for either of the other candidates, until the decision of the 
legislature of Louisiana (first heard at Washington on the 27th of Decem- 
ber) had left him free to decide between his former competitors ; that Mr. 
Crawford, though constitutionally a candidate, was virtually withdrawn by 
the situation of his health, and that as between Mr. Adams and General 
Jackson, the previous deliberate expression of his sentiments as to the 
latter's character and qualifications for a civil office, rendered it impossi- 
ble for him to vote for him without the most gross inconsistency ; that Mr. 
Adams's experience, learning, and talents, were guaranties for his proper 
performance of the duties of the chief magistracy, which were not in the 
power of his competitor to offer ; and that, having^ been compelled to dis- 
charge this duty as a representative of the people, it would have argued 
an improper distrust of his own character and of public opinion, to have 
refused to take the appointment of secretary of state from Mr. Adams, be- 
cause he had contributed by his vote to elect him to the presidency. As 
to the fact of his selection as secretary of state, they vindicated it on the 



ADMINISTRATION OP JOHN Q. ADAMS. 257 

ground, that his situation as speaker of the house, and his long and inti- 
mate acquaintance with our .national affairs, made him the most prominent 
candidate for that station, and the strong support he received in the west 
for the presidency, showed that his appointment would gratify a part of 
the Union, which, until then, had never been complimented with a repre- 
sentative in the cabinet.* 

One of the most prominent topics of public interest during the year 
1825, was the controversy between the national government and the ex- 
ecutive of Georgia, Governor Troup. This controversy grew out of a 
compact between the general government and the state of Georgia in 1802. 
By that compact the United States agreed, in consideration of Georgia 
relinquishing her claim to the Mississippi territory, to extinguish, at the na- 
tional expense, the Indian title to the lands occupied by them in Georgia, 
" whenever it could be peaceably done, upon reasonable terms." Since 
making that agreement, the general government had extinguished the Indian 
title to about fifteen millions of acres, and conveyed the same to the state 
of Georgia. There still remained 9,537,000 of acres in possession of the 
Indians, of which 5,292,000 of acres belonged to the Cherokees, and the 
remainder to the Creek nation. 

Shortly before the termination of Mr. Monroe's administration, the state 
government became very urgent for the entire removal of the Indians from 
the state ; and at the solicitation of the governor, the late president ap- 
pointed two commissioners, selected by the governor of Georgia, to make 
a treaty with the Creeks for the purchase of their lands. f 

But the Creek nation having began to enjoy the arts and comforts of 
civilization introduced among them by the government of the United States, 
were unwilling to leave their lands for the wilderness of the west, and 
passed a law forbidding the sale of any of their lands, on the pain of death. 
A few of the chiefs were induced to violate this law, by negotiating with 
the United States commissioners, after the breaking up of the general 
council of the nation, and by these chiefs, forming a fraction only of the 
acknowledged heads of the tribes, all the lands of the Creeks in Georgia 
and Alabama were ceded to the United States. This treaty, however, was 
transmitted to the United States senate, and ratified by them on the 3d of 
March, 1825, the last day of Mr. Monroe's administration. When the 
information that this treaty had been thus sanctioned, reached the Creeks, 
it produced great excitement, and a secret council of the nation being 
called, they resolved not to accept the treaty, and the death of M'Intosh, 
the chief of the party that assented to it, was determined on. This deter- 
mination was carried into effect by a party of Indians, who surrounded 
his house on the 30th of April, and shot M'Intosh, and another chief who 
had also signed the treaty. 

This course on the part of the Creeks presented a new question, and a 

* American Annual Register. ♦ Ibid. 

17 



258 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAV8. 

controversy soon grew out of it between the general government and Gov- 
ernor Troup. The governor contended, that upon the ratification of the 
treaty, the fee simple of the lands became vested in Georgia, and subject 
to her authority. He therefore called the legislature of Georgia together, 
for the purpose of taking measures to cause a survey of the lands, and to 
distribute them among the white inhabitants of Georgia by lottery. These 
circumstances, and the remonstrances of the Creek chiefs against the 
treaty, induced President Adams to appoint a special agent to investigate 
the matter, and, at the same time. General Gaines, of the United States 
army, was ordered to repair to the Creek country with a competent num- 
ber of troops, to restore tranquillity among the Creeks, and to prevent any 
disturbances between them and the frontier settlers. After an investiga- 
tion by the agent into the facts, and receiving his report that bad faith and 
corruption had attended the treaty, and that forty-nine fiftieths of the Creeks 
appeared to be hostile to the treaty, the president decided not to suffer 
any interference with them until the meeting of Congress. Governor 
Troup at first threatened to take the execution of the treaty into his own 
hands, but the firm and decided tone of the president induced him to leave 
the affair to the constituted authorities. 

Although the president had thus resolved to protect the Indians in their 
rights, he was desirous to satisfy the claims of Georgia, and a new nego- 
tiation was opened with the Creeks, which finally resulted in annulling 
the former treaty, and the whole Creek territory within the limits of 
Georgia was ceded to the United States. By the new treaty, the Creeks 
retained all their lands in Alabama, which had been ceded in the one 
declared null. Notwithstanding the opposition of the Georgia delegation 
in Congress, the new treaty was ratified by the senate, at the ensuing 
session, by a vote of 30 to 7, and the appropriations were made by the 
house of representatives, by 167 votes to 10. 

A treaty Avas also made with the Indians in the northwestern states and 
territories, by Governors Cass and Clark, at Prairie du Chien, in August, 
1825. The negotiations occupied about two weeks, and a peace was 
concluded between the tribes, and the tomahawk finally buried, for the first 
lime for nearly a century. 

Another object of the government was, to remove the tribes scattered 
through the several states, to a tract of country west of the Mississippi, 
and to concentrate them into one nation, with some plan for their govern- 
ment and civilization. This plan was fully developed in a message of 
President Monroe, January 27th, 1825, in which its advantages were 
strongly depicted. With the constant superintendence and protecting care 
of the federal government, this scheme might be put in practice, and the 
annihilation of the original inhabitants of the American forest prevented. 
Without that care, the policy of bringing tribes with savage habits and 
inimical feelings into immediate contact, may be well doubted. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 259 

To cany this plan into effect, treaties were made with the Osages and 
the Kanzas Indians, extinguishing their titles to the territory west of the 
Mississippi, excepting to certain reservations for their own use. By these 
treaties, a tract was provided for those Indians who might be induced to 
emigrate from the states on the east side of the river. The Indians, how- 
ever, were generally unwilling to remove, and at a meeting with some of 
the tribes of Ohio, in May, 1825, they refused to do anything to promote 
the views of our government. The Shawanee tribe in Missouri, however, 
exchanged their lands for a tract in the territory purchased from the Osa- 
ges, and agreed to remove thither. Treaties of amity and protection were 
also made with most of the tribes in that vast tract betweeen Missouri and 
Mexico, by which the Indians permitted the United Slates to lay out a 
road through their lands, for the traders between those places, who had 
become numerous and entitled to attention. 

The system proposed by Mr. Monroe, for the preservation and civilization 
of the aborigines, it was found impossible to carry into operation, on ac- 
count of the reluctance of the Indians to dispose of more of their territory ; 
a modification was therefore proposed by Mr. Barbour, the secretary of 
war, which was submitted to the nineteenth Congress. The outlines of 
this new plan were, to set apart the territory west of the Mississippi, beyond 
the states and territories, and that east of the Mississippi, lying west of lakes 
Huron and Michigan, for their exclusive abode, under a territorial govern- 
ment, to be maintained by the United States. Secondly, to induce them 
to remove as individuals, and not in tribes, and to leave those who do not 
wish to go, in their present circumstances. Thirdly, when circumstances 
should justify it, to amalgamate the tribes in one mass, and distribute their 
property among the individual Indians. Common schools to be established 
in the villages ; assistance to be afforded them in commencing agricultural 
life ; to furnish them with stock, grain, and fences ; and to commute the 
annuities now paid to them, for a fixed sum, to be divided as individual 
property, were also recommended as the details of this system. 

The benevolent views of the government were now prosecuted without 
interruption, and a visible improvement was yearly manifested in the con- 
dition of the remaining tribes. The appropriations made by the nine- 
teenth Congress, at the first session, to the Indian department, for the civ- 
ilization of the aborigines, and to fulfil the treaties made with them, 
amounted to nearly one million of dollars. The number of Indians in the 
several states and territories, appeared, by a report from the secretary of 
war, at the beginning of the year, to be about 130,000; of which about 
97,000 were east of the Mississippi, and south of Michigan. Many of 
these were partially civilized, as the Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chick- 
asaw nations in the south, and some of the eastern Indians, leaving only 
between forty and fifty thousand Indians whose removal could be effected 
with propriety. 



260 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

Toward the Florida Indians, who were in a state of great suffering from 
want of food, the government manifested its usual humanity. A bill ap- 
propriating twenty thousand dollars to furnish them with the means of 
subsistence, was passed by Congress, and they were relieved from their 
distress. 

During the last session of the eighteenth Congress, appropriations were 
made for surveying and laying out sundry important roads in Arkansas, 
Missouri, and Florida, and the secretary of the treasury was authorized to 
aid the Chesapeake and Delaware canal, by subscribing one hundred and 
fifty thousand dollars to its capital stock. An appropriation, already allu- 
ded to in our sketch of Mr. Monroe's administration, was also made for 
making surveys in different parts of the Union. The topographical corps, 
which had been enlarged, was actively employed during the summer in 
executing these surveys. The constitutional objections to internal im- 
provements by the general government seemed to have been overruled by 
the decisions of several successive Congresses, and during this year the 
attention of the federal government was particularly directed to the im- 
provement of the internal communications between the states.* 

The Marquis de La Fayette having spent over a year in visiting the dif- 
ferent parts of the United States, and been everywhere received with the 
utmost enthusiasm and affection by the people, took leave of his Ameri- 
can friends in the month of September, 1825. A new frigate named the 
Brandywine, in honor of La Fayette, who distinguished himself in the 
battle at that place during the revolutionary war, was provided to transport 
him to France. On the invitation of President Adams, the " nation's guest" 
passed a few weeks at the president's house, in Washington, and on the 
day of his departure, the 7th of September, the president took leave of 
him in an eloquent and impressive address, in presence of the civil au- 
thorities of the District of Columbia, the heads of departments, and a 
concourse of citizens, assembled at the president's house to join in the 
affecting ceremonies. The parting address of Mr. Adams was delivered 
with great dignity, though with evident emotion, and produced a deep im- 
pression. 

The first session of the nineteenth Congress commenced on the 5th of 
December, 1825, and continued until the 22d of May, 1826. Mr. Calhoun, 
the vice-president, took the chair in the senate, and Nathaniel Macon, of 
North Carolina, was chosen president pro tern, previous to the adjournment 
in May. A large proportion of the members of the house of representatives 
had been chosen before the election of president, and on account of the 
peculiar circumstances of that election, there was some doubt whether a 
majority would be found in the house in favor of the administration. On 
the second ballot for speaker, however, John W. Taylor, of New York, a 
friend of the administration, received 99 votes, against 94 for all others, 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATICN OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 261 

and was elected. In the senate the administration had a decided majority, 
but it soon became obvious that in both houses the friends of General 
Jackson and Mr. Crawford, with few exceptions, were disposed to unite, 
and embarrass and defeat the measures proposed by the president and his 
cabinet, or by their friends in Congress. 

Many of the most important of the suggestions in the president's mes- 
sage were not acted on during the session ; other topics having occupied 
the attention of Congress, which were introduced apparently for the pur- 
pose of agitating the public mind on the subject of the recent election of 
president. Amendments to the constitution were proposed in the senate 
by Mr. Benton, of Missouri, to provide for a direct vote by the people, 
in districts, for president, and dispensing with the colleges of electors ; 
and by Mr. M'Duffie, of South Carolina, in the house, providing for a 
choice of electors by districts, and preventing the choice of president from 
devolving on the house of representatives. Mr. Benton's proposition was 
accompanied with an able report, but no action was taken on it in the sen- 
ate. A long and spirited debate took place in the house on the proposed 
amendments, in the course of which Mr. M'Duffie went into a history of 
the late election, censuring in severe terms the course of Mr. Clay and 
his friends, to which Mr. Trimble, of Kentucky, and others, replied in se- 
vere and pointed language, which caused a scene of great excitement. On 
the first resolution, which took the election from Congress, the house divi- 
ded, 123 in the affirmative, and 64 in the negative. The second resolu- 
tion, in favor of the district system, was rejected, by a vote of 101 to 91. 
The subject was then referred to a select committee of twenty-four, one 
from each state, which, at the close of the session, reported that they had 
not been able to agree upon any plan to prevent the election from devolv- 
ing upon Congress, and, on request, the committee was discharged from 
any further consideration of the matter. The only effect of this attempt 
to amend the constitution was to excite the feelings of members, and to ar- 
ray them into parties for and against the administration, in a more d&cided 
manner, and compelled them, in some measure, to determine upon their 
ultimate course, before its measures had been fairly tried. About one third 
of the session was occupied in the discussion of the proposed amendments. 

In the senate, a resolution offered by Mr. Macon, to inquire into the 
expediency of reducing the patronage of the executive, was referred to 
a committee of which Mr. Benton was chairman, who reported at length 
on the subject, and introduced six bills, in conformity therewith. An un- 
usual number of copies of the report and bills was ordered to be printed 
for circulation among the people, and then the subject was left with other 
unfinished business. 

The recommendation in the president's message, that the United States 
should take part in a congress of North and South American states, pro- 
posed to be held at Panama, was at this time the subject of great political 



262 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

interest, and much agitated in Congress at this session. In certain offi- 
cial conversations had in the spring of 1825, with the ministers of those 
powers, invitations were given, on the part of Colombia, Mexico, and Cen- 
tral America, to the United States, to send commissioners to Panama. 
The proposed congress at that place was supposed to have been first sug- 
gested by General Bolivar, who was for some time at the head of the re- 
public of Colombia ; and that Peru and Chili should also join in it. The 
views of Bolivar were, to form a close alliance, and to pledge mutual as- 
sistance to resist European governments. 

Mr. Clay, the secretary of state, in replying to the communications from 
the ministers of the republics of Spanish America, remarked, that those 
communications were received with proper feelings of the friendly motives 
which dictated them ; but that the United States could not take any part 
in the existing war with Spain, nor in councils for deliberating on its fur- 
ther prosecution ; though the president believed that such a congress 
might be highly useful in settling several important disputed questions of 
public law, and in arranging other matters of deep interest to the Ameri- 
can continent, and strengthening the bonds of friendship between the 
American powers ; that it appeared to him, however, expedient, before 
such a congress met, to adjust, as preliminary matters, the precise objects 
to which the attention of the congress would be directed, and the sub- 
stance and form of the power of the ministers representing the several 
republics. In reply to this suggestion, notes were received from them, 
stating the objects of the assembly, and formally renewing the invitation. 
The president determined to accept this invitation, and to send ministers 
to the congress, should the senate consent to the measure. 

This determination he mentioned in his opening message to Congress, 
and on the 26th of December he sent to the senate a confidential message, 
setting forth the objects of the Panama congress ; his reasons for accepting 
the invitation to send commissioners ; and nominating Richard C. Anderson 
and John Sergeant as ministers on the part of the United States, and Wil- 
liam B. Rochester, of New York, as secretary to the mission. 

This message, with the accompanying documents, was referred to the 
committee on foreign relations, by whom a report was made on the 16th 
of January, 1826, condemning the mission, and ending with a resolution, 
declaring it to be inexpedient to send ministers to Panama. 

It should be remarked, that the vice-president, Mr. Calhoun, who early 
gave indications of a disposition to act with the opposition, in thwarting 
the measures of the administration, was empowered, by the rules of the 
senate, to appoint all the committees of that body. In the exercise of that 
power he was careful to appoint a majority of those who were known to 
be unfriendly to the administration, upon most of the important commit- 
tees. Committees thus selected necessarily brought in reports unfavor- 
able to the measures supported by the friends of the administration. The 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 263 

inconvenience of this state of things induced the senate, at the latter part 
of the session, to take from the vice-president the power of appointing 
the committees. It was, however, too late to remedy the evils which 
had been produced by the attitude that the senate had been forced to 
assume, with respect to the executive, as well as the popular branch of 
Congress. 

The report of the committee on foreign relations occasioned a long de- 
bate in secret session in the senate, and the resolution reported by that 
committee, condemning the Panama mission, was negatived by a vote of 
24 to 19, on the 14th of March. The nominations by the president were 
then confirmed by the senate ; and the injunction of secresy on the sub- 
ject removed from the journal. Thus the administration was sustained 
in this measure by the senate ; and in the house of representatives the 
bill making the appropriation for the mission, was carried, after a debate 
of many days, on the 2Ist of April, by a vote of 133 to 61. 

The house having thus concurred with the senate in assenting to the 
policy of the mission, measures were taken to carry it into effect ; and or- 
ders were transmitted to Mr. Anderson, who was then minister to Colom- 
bia, to attend the congress, which was to hold its first meeting in the 
month of June. In his way to Panama he was unfortunately attacked, at 
Carthagena, by a malignant fever, which proved fatal, and deprived the 
country of an able and useful representative. 

The delay that had been occasioned by the long and protracted discussions 
to which this measure had been subjected, in both houses of Congress, 
thus prevented any representation of the United States in the congress at 
Panama ; it having been found impossible for Mr. Sergeant to prepare, in 
the short time which remained after the decision of the house, before the 
meeting of the congress, for his departure, and the approach of the un- 
healthy season having rendered a journey across the isthmus to Panama 
peculiarly dangerous. 

The representatives'of Peru, Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, 
met there on the 22 d of June, 1826. Upper Peru, or Bolivia, had not then 
organized its government, and was not represented, nor was the republic 
of Chili. The governments of England and the Netherlands, though un- 
invited, sent diplomatic agents, who were not permitted to be present 
during the deliberations of the congress, but communications were made 
to them of their proceedings. 

The congress continued in session until the 15th of July, and conclu- 
ded between themselves a treaty of friendship and perpetual confedera- 
tion, to which all other American powers might accede within the year. 
The treaties between the assembled powers were recognised and renewed, 
and the meeting of the congress annually in time of common war, and 
biennially in time of peace, agreed upon. The next meeting was ordered 
to be held at Tacubaya, a village near the city of Mexico, in February, 1837. 



264 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

Mr. Poinsett, United States minister to Mexico, was appointed commis- 
sioner to Panama in place of Mr. Anderson, deceased, and Mr. Sergeant, 
his colleague, repaired to Mexico, to be present when the congress should 
reassemble at Tacubaya. The congress did not assemble, however, at the 
appointed time, and there being no prospect of another session at any spe- 
cified period, Mr. Sergeant returned to the United States. The causes of 
this unexpected issue of a measure which promised in its commencement 
to do so much to meliorate the condition of mankind, by diminishing the 
causes as well as the evils of war, it is believed, were occasioned by the 
internal commotions of Colombia and Peru, and the apprehension which 
existed in South America of the ambitious designs of Bolivar.* 

The nineteenth Congress passed but few acts of general interest at their 
first session, nor was it distinguished by any important measures, except- 
ing the sanction given to the Panama mission. Nearly all the proposi- 
tions which were called for by the public voice, were defeated, either 
from want of time for their consideration, or by an influence which seemed 
to exert itself for the purpose of rendering the administration unpopular. 
This was, perhaps, to have been expected, in the state of parties as then 
existing, and the powerful combination which was forming for the pur- 
pose of overthrowing the administration. 

The disposition of this Congress was, however, favorable to objects of 
internal improvement. In addition to fifty thousand dollars appropriated 
for general surveys, specific appropriations were made for the survey of a 
canal route across Florida, for sundry postroads, and for continuing and 
repairing the Cumberland road. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
were authorized to be subscribed on the part of the government, to the 
stock of the Dismal Swamp Canal Company, and three fifths of the five 
per cent, reserved from the proceeds of the public lands in Mississippi 
were given to that state for the purposes of internal improvement. Ap- 
propriations were also made for the survey of various harbors on the sea- 
coast, and for the deepening of their channels, as well as to secure them 
from storms. The execution of these several acts for internal improve- 
ment was intrusted to the war department. 

A bill making appropriation for the oflfilcers and soldiers of the conti- 
nental army who had served during the war of the revolution, was intro- 
duced and ably advocated, but opposition and want of time caused its post- 
ponement. 

To provide for the increasing wants of the people in the western states 
having business in the United States courts, a bill was reported by the 
committee of the judiciary, for two additional justices of the supreme 
court, and for holding circuit courts in the new states. This bill passed 
the house by a large majority, but the amendments proposed by ihe sen- 
ate were not concurred in by the house, and thus the bill was lost. An 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 265 

appropriation of the public lands was made in all the townships belonging 
to the United States, where lots had not been previously set apart for 
that object. Authority was given at this time for preparing a treatise at 
the expense of the general government, on the culture of the silkworm, 
and of mulberry-trees, and for giving information on the manufacture of 
silk in the United States. 

The discordance in the materials of the opposition prevented any har- 
monious concert of action and purpose at this first session of the nine- 
teenth Congress, but during the vacation and the succeeding session, great 
progress was made toward a stricter union, and before the expiration of 
the term of that Congress, in March, 1827, the party had assumed a con- 
sistent shape. General Jackson was nominated by the legislature of Ten- 
nessee, as early as October, 1825, as a candidate for president, to suc- 
ceed Mr. Adams. This nomination was formally accepted by him, in an 
address delivered before both branches of the legislature, in which he re- 
signed his seat in the senate of the United States. The strong insinuations 
in this address against the propriety of the last election by Congress, 
plainly indicated General Jackson's dissatisfaction at the result, and mani- 
fested a willingness to sanction an opposition to the administration on the 
ground of its corrupt origin. The charge of corruption at the recent 
election, by bargain and intrigue between Messrs. Adams and Clay, was 
more directly countenanced by the general, in a letter to Mr. Carter Bev- 
erley, of Virginia, published in the papers in 1827. The adherents of the 
vice-president sustained the charge of corruption against the administra- 
tion, in debates in Congress, uniting cordially in this and other respects, 
with the original friends and supporters of General Jackson. 

That numerous portion of the opposition to the administration who had 
been attached to the political fortunes of Mr. Crawford, were still unwil- 
ling to adopt General Jackson as the next candidate for the presidency, in 
opposition to Mr. Adams ; but it soon became apparent that no other 
course was left to them, if success was desired, but to acquiesce in his 
support. Accordingly, it was announced early in 1827, by a leading op- 
position member from Virginia, that the combinations for effecting the 
elevation of General Jackson, were nearly complete, and, in fact, greater 
concert was manifested in their party movements after that time. 

The strong popular vote which, in despite of the efforts of the Adams, 
Clay, and Crawford parties, the general had received at the last election, 
probably had much effect in inducing the friends of Mr. Crawford to come 
to the conclusion to support him. It furnished, ready formed, a large cap- 
ital which the Crawford party saw they could add to their own, simply by 
consenting to receive it. The united electoral votes for Jackson and 
Crawford, in 1824, they remembered, were 140, while those for Adams 
and Clay were but 121. They knew, too, that in the chivalric bravery of 
General Jackson, his brilliant success in the late war, and the many pop- 



266 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

ular and fascinating points in his character, would, when supported by 
such a compact, disciplined association as was the Crawford parly in many 
of the states, render this extraordinary man irresistible as a candidate be- 
fore the people. If he was subject to rashness and precipitancy, they 
thought they could surround him with friends and advisers who would 
keep him within due bounds. True, the Crawford men had, in 1824 and 
1825, manifested the utmost horror at the least prospect of his election, 
and Mr. Crawford himself was known to have expressed very unfavorable 
opinions of him ; but a better knowledge of the man, and above all, a 
kind of political necessity, had materially changed their views.* 

The charge of bargain and intrigue made by General Jackson and some 
of his friends, against Messrs. Adams and Clay, was met by Mr. Clay, 
the secretary of state, in a body of testimony, which was thought, by a 
large portion of the reading public, to overthrow the accusation against 
him, and convinced many that in voting for Mr. Adams, in the house of 
representatives, Mr. Clay and his friends conscientiously discharged their 
duty. Still, the opposition papers continued to dwell upon the charge, 
and doubtless many persons retained their original unfavorable impres- 
sions on this subject. But the opposition to the administration had now 
become so fully matured, that it no longer needed the aliment which had 
first given life and vigor to it. 

The course of the administration itself, with regard to appointments to 
office, tended to promote the objects of the opposition, and to accelerate 
its own downfall. Following up the principle promulgated in his inaugu- 
ral address, of administering the government without regard to party, Mr. 
Adams had only considered, in the candidates for offices, their qualifica- 
tions and integrity, and had not inquired whether they were friendly or 
hostile to his administration. The correctness of this proposition as an ab- 
stract principle, is unquestionable ; but the propriety of its application in 
practice, depends entirely upon the circumstances under which the govern- 
ment is placed ; and it is in the application of general maxims to such cir- 
cumstances that the sagacity of the statesman is developed. No doctrine 
of political toleration requires a prostration of the party in power at the 
feet of the minority. Such, however, was the effect of the policy adopted 
by the president, in his selection of public officers. From an over- anxi- 
ety to avoid the appearance of rewarding political partisans, he conferred 
such offices as became vacant upon those who either used the influence 
acquired from their stations, against the government ; or who sought, by a 
cold neutrality, to conciliate the esteem of its inveterate opponents. 

This hostile spirit also existed among many of those whom the admin- 
istration found in office, and who were continued in their stations by its 
liberality. 

In this manner, the influence derived from the patronage of the general 
• Hammond's Political History. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 267 

government was exercised against it, rather than in its favor ; and the 
singular spectacle was presented, of an administration openly and violently 
opposed by those whose influence in society, and whose very means of 
subsistence, were dependent upon its will.* 

The members of the cabinet, with the exception of Mr. Clay, the sec- 
retary of state, were unable to bring to the aid of the administration the 
support and political influence that might reasonably have been anticipa- 
ted. The friends of Mr. Clay, throughout the Union, with but compara- 
tively few exceptions, gave a zealous support to the administration ; but 
Mr. Rush, secretary of the treasury, and Mr. Barbour, secretary of war, 
who had been attached to the Crawford party, could not effect any impor- 
tant change in the political character of states so irrevocably hostile to 
Mr. Adams as Pennsylvania and Virginia. The secretary of the navy, 
Samuel L. Southard, who was appointed by Mr. Monroe, December 9, 
1823, and continued in office by Mr. Adams, exercised his influence 
eff*ectively in New Jersey, his native state, which had voted for General 
Jackson in 1824, but now supported the administration of Mr. Adams. 
Mr. Wirt, the attorney-general, was not an active politician, nor is it prob- 
able that he could have produced any important effect in Virginia. The 
postmaster-general, John M'Lean, although professedly neutral in the con- 
test, was believed to prefer General Jackson to Mr. Adams. Thus un- 
fortunately, in every point of view, was the administration placed ; and to 
the eye of careful observers, its destiny, it appeared probable, was to en- 
dure only for the single term of four years. 

The second session of the nineteenth Congress was held from the 4th 
of December, 1826, to the 3d of March, 1827. But few laws of an im- 
portant or general character were passed at this session, though others 
were urged with great zeal and ability by several members. There was, 
at this period, a very strong feeling in Congress as to the theory and 
views of the executive ; and with many a disposition to scrutinize closely 
the recommendations of the president. Some supposed his objects were 
visionary, and he was charged with entertaining such views of the con- 
stitution as that national internal improvements might justly be made, 
though there might be large expenditures in their execution. 

An appropriation of thirty thousand dollars was made for repairs on the 
Cumberland road ; lands were reserved for seminaries of learning in Lou- 
isiana, in Florida, and in Arkansas ; and a grant of public lands was made 
to the asylum of the deaf and dumb in Kentucky. A bill was introduced 
in the senate by Mr. Dickerson, of New Jersey, an opposition senator, for 
distributing a certain part of the surplus of the public revenue among the 
several states. But the proposition was not received with much favor ; 
and, after a short discussion, the bill was denied a second reading. The 
plan originated in a wish to maintain state power and rights, and to pre- 
* American Annual Register. 



268 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

vent great expenditures by the national government, which would naturally 
increase the influence and patronage of the latter.* 

Great efforts were again made at this session of Congress for the pas- 
sage of a bankrupt law. The bill introduced at the last session, by Mr. 
Hayne, of South Carolina, was now taken up, and ably discussed by the 
mover and others, but the bill was opposed, and finally defeated, on the 
pretence that it would operate particularly for the relief of merchants, and 
would be of no benefit to the other classes of citizens. 

The subject of commercial intercourse with the British colonies was 
also discussed at great length at this session. It was one of peculiar in- 
terest and importance ; for the trade with the British ports in the West 
Indies was so restricted by acts of parliament, that it could be pursued 
with but little profit by the citizens of the United States. Both branches 
of Congress had a bill prepared on this subject ; they did not differ mate- 
rially ; but it was said in the house, that the bill before the senate did not 
fully protect the interests of American merchants trading to those ports ; 
and no law was enacted, as was proposed and expected. The difference 
might have been adjusted by a committee of conference of both houses, 
as is usual in cases of disagreement ; but this was not done in season, and 
the close of the session prevented it. And on the 17th of March, by vir- 
tue of a law passed three years before, the president declared, by procla- 
mation, that the trade with those ports was prohibited ; as the discrimina- 
ting duties of the British government had not been removed.! 

The sum of thirty thousand dollars was appropriated for improving the 
navigation of the Ohio river. Grants of the public lands were made to 
the states of Illinois and Indiana, to aid those states, in making canals; 
also to the state of Ohio, for the purpose of aiding in the construction of 
a road from Columbus to Sandusky. For the gradual improvement of the 
navy the sum of five hundred thousand dollars per annum, for six years, 
was appropriated. 

A bill for imposing additional duties on imported woollen goods, for the 
purpose of aiding American manufactures, was brought forward at an early 
day of the session. In February, 1827, near the close of the session, the bill 
passed the house, but it was rejected in the senate by the casting vote of 
the vif e-president. President Adams was considered friendly to the sys- 
tem of protection to domestic manufactures by adequate duties on imports 
of similar articles, but in his messages to the nineteenth Congress he ex- 
pressed no opinion on the subject, an omission which greatly dissatisfied 
the manufacturers. 

A proposition was made in the house of representatives, to reimburse 

to those persons who had been fined under the sedition law of 1798, the 

amount which they had paid, and an indemnity for loss of time, <fcc. ; but 

the proposition was not received with favor by the majority of the house, 

• Bradford. f Ibid. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 269 

and the object of the mover was not attained. Another unsuccessful 
effort was made to pass a law for allowing compensation to the officers 
of the continental army who continued in service till the close of the rev- 
olutionary war. At the following session an act was passed making the 
desired appropriations for these veterans. When the term of the nine- 
teenth Congress expired, there was a large amount of unfinished business 
of great importance laying on the table. Although the administration had 
a nominal majority of supporters in both houses, yet the course of the op- 
position greatly retarded the public business, and disheartened the friends 
of the administration. 

The elections for members of the twentieth Congress took place in 
many of the states, under a highly excited state of public feeling for and 
against the administration. Great efforts were made by the opposition 
leaders to secure a majority in the house, for the double purpose of 
checking the administration, and producing an influence on public opinion 
favorable to the opposition, in anticipation of the next presidential elec- 
tion. The states of Delaware and New Jersey showed changes from the 
opposition to the administration side. The president's friends were also 
sustained by the New England states, in Ohio, Indiana, and Louisiana. 
But these favorable indications were more than counterbalanced by ad- 
verse results in the elections in Kentucky and New York, Virginia, the 
Carolinas, and other southern states, except Louisiana ; also Pennsylva- 
nia, Tennessee, and Illinois, elected opposition members with few excep- 
tions. The general result was the return of a majority of opposition mem- 
bers to the house of representatives ; and this victory was soon followed 
by such an accession from those who were imcommitted in the senate, as 
to give a majority to the same party in that body. 

The bill for increasing the duties on imported manufactures of wool 
having been defeated at the close of the last session of the nineteenth 
Congress, steps were immediately taken by the friends of the protective 
system, to bring the subject again before Congress, and a convention of 
delegates from many of the states, was held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, 
for the purpose of concentrating public opinion, and to obtain an harmoni- 
ous co-operation in the measures to be taken for the encouragement of 
domestic manufactures. 

It was determined at this convention to memorialize Congress, not only 
on the subject of an increase of duty on woollens, but on many other ar- 
ticles of manufacture. In short, a very general revision of the protective 
features of the tariff of 1824, with a view to augmentation, was agreed 
upon. The proceedings of the Harrisburg convention provoked much an- 
imadversion among the opponents of the policy, particularly in some of 
the seaport towns, and in the southern states, where the planters were 
very hostile to the protective system. 

Such was the state of public opinion when the twentieth Congress as- 



270 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

sembled ; and as it was generally believed that the course taken by the 
parties supporting and opposing the administration on this question, would 
materially affect their prospects of success, much anxiety prevailed con- 
cerning the view which the president might feel bound to take of this 
subject in his annual message. 

The northwestern states, and Pennsylvania, were well known to be 
tariff states ; and their votes, it was predicted, would depend entirely upon 
the division of parties upon this question. 

Contrary to general expectation, no notice was taken of the subject in 
the opening message to Congress ; but in the annual report of the secre- 
tary of the treasury, Mr. Rush, on the 10th of December, an elaborate view 
was taken of the manufactures of the country, and their encouragement 
and protection warmly recommended. 

The first session of the twentieth Congress commenced on the 3d of 
December, 1827, and closed on the 26th of May, 1828. In the house of 
representatives two hundred and seven members were present, and on the 
first ballot for speaker, Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, had 104 votes, 
John W. Taylor, of New York, had 94, and there were 7 scattering. The 
opposition speaker was thus elected. He had supported Mr. Crawford 
for president, in 1824, and his success as a candidate for speaker showed 
the union of the different sections of the opposition, and was regarded as 
a presage of the approaching downfall of the administration. 

The committees of both houses, a majority of the senate being now of 
the same sentiments as the house, of course represented the political 
opinions of the opposition ; and the administration was left without that 
support to which it was accustomed in Congress. The administration, 
therefore, had not a fair trial in public opinion. Not having a majority in 
Congress, its policy was not carried into full effect, and the country had 
not an opportunity of ascertaining by experience whether it was beneficial 
or not. 

A large portion of the session was taken up in the discussion of reso- 
lutions which were introduced with the view of discussing the character 
of the administration, tending to convert Congress into a mere forum for 
political debate, and bringing the personal merits and. demerits of the can- 
didates for the presidency under consideration. Some of the reports of 
committees partook strongly of this partisan complexion. 

Of the character referred to, was a resolution offered by Mr. Hamilton, 
an opposition member of the house of representatives, on the 8th of Janu- 
ary, to inquire into the expediency of having an historical picture of the 
battle of New Orleans painted, and placed in the rotunda of the capitol. 
This resolution, which was regarded as intended for political effect, pro- 
duced much discussion. It was finally rejected by the house, by 103 
nays to 98 ayes. 

This resolution was followed by one of a similar character from the 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 271 

Other party. On the 11th of January, Mr. Sloane moved a resolution re- 
quiring the secretary of war to furnish the house with a copy of the pro- 
ceedings of a court-martial held on the 5th of December, 1814, in a de- 
tachment of the army under the command of General Jackson, for the 
trial of certain Tennessee militiamen. 

These men were tried for insubordination and mutiny, and having 
been found guilty, were condemned to be shot, which sentence was or- 
dered by General Jackson to be carried into execution. It was supposed 
that the publication of the ofRcial records would prove the general to have 
been careless of human life, and render him unpopular, as the proceed- 
ings of the court-martial were not strictly formal. The introduction of 
this resolution caused much excitement in the house. It was, however, 
finally passed, with sundry amendments, and, with the documents fur- 
nished by the war department, referred to the committee on military 
affairs for examination. On the 11th of February the committee made 
a long exculpatory report, justifying the execution of these militiamen, 
which, by a vote of the house, 103 to 98, was ordered to be printed with 
the documents, in the order in which they had been arranged by the com- 
mittee. 

A long and exciting debate, of a party character, arose on the subject 
of certain resolutions submitted in January, by Mr. Chilton, a new mem- 
ber on the opposition side from Kentucky. These resolutions proposed 
an inquiry into the expenditures of the government, with a view to re- 
trenchment. It did not appear that either party had been consulted by the 
mover in bringing them forward. After debating the subject for nearly 
two weeks, the house adopted, in lieu of Mr. Chilton's resolutions, others 
offered by Mr. Hamilton, to appoint a select committee to inquire and re- 
port in detail on expenses and retrenchment. The select committee was 
then appointed by the speaker, but Mr. Chilton was not placed thereon. 

After a long and minute investigation, the committee, on the 15th of 
May, made a report on the subject referred to them, and the minority of 
the committee made a counter report. 

These reports comprehended the whole subject of the discretionary 
expenditure of the executive part of the government, and contained a 
statement of the respective views and principles of the opposition and 
administration parties concerning the projected reform in the federal 
government. 

Six thousand copies of these reports were ordered to be printed for dis- 
tribution by the members, among their constituents, and this brought the 
question directly before the public for its decision. On one side, the aug- 
mented expenditure of the government was relied on to prove the extrav- 
agance of the administration, and on the other, this increase was shown to 
be a necessary result of the policy deliberately adopted by the nation. 
The continuance of tlxis policy was, therefore, properly the question to be 



272 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

decided ; but so much personal predilection and sectional prejudice en- 
tered into the contest, that this question, the real one in issue, was not 
fairly tried.* 

The subject of a revision of the tariff on imports, with a view to addi- 
tional protection to American manufactures, was brought before Congress 
at an early period of the session. The committee on manufactures, to 
whom the memorials on the subject were referred, on request, was granted 
power to send for persons and papers. Many manufacturers and others 
were examined by the committee, and on the 31st of January, after spend- 
ing four weeks in these inquiries, they made a report, accompanied by the 
testimony taken, and a new tariff bill, in which an increased rate of duties 
was proposed on many articles of produce and manufacture. 

The committee on manufactures which reported this bill was composed 
of two members friendly to the administration, and five of the opposition, 
but only one member of the committee was decidedly opposed to a pro- 
tective tariff. It was asserted by the friends of the administration, that 
although six of the committee were apparently friendly to the tariff policy, 
two only were so in reality, and one only opposed, while the other mem- 
bers of the committee were disposed to use the question as a political en- 
gine ; and that no law could be expected from a committee so constituted, 
but one which would be framed more with a view to affect public opinion 
in relation to the presidential election, than to advance the manufacturing 
interest. 

The discussions on the tariff bill continued from the 12th of February 
to the 15th of April, various amendments proposed by Mr. Mallary, chair- 
man of the committee which reported the bill, and a friend of the adminis- 
tration, having been rejected, and others, offered by him and others, being 
adopted ; the bill finally passed the house by a vote of 109 to 91. The bill 
was avowedly made odious and oppressive to the country in some particulars, 
with a view of rendering the protective system unpopular ; but the friends 
of protection came to the conclusion that the good qualities in the provis- 
ions of the bill relative to the manufacturing interest, more than coun- 
terbalanced other features deemed objectionable. They therefore, un- 
expectedly to many, supported the bill. In the senate, after sundry 
amendments, which were afterward concurred in by the house, the bill 
passed, by 26 ayes to 21 nays, and being approved by the president, be- 
came a law a few days before the adjournment. This tariff became very 
unpopular in the southern states, where the policy was denounced on all 
occasions as unconstitutional and oppressive. The law of 1828, however, 
continued in operation for about four years after its passage, namely, till 
1832, when another revision took place. 

At this session other propositions relative to the existing rate of duties 
on other articles were brought forward, chiefly with the view of affording 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 273 

some relief to the navigating interest. A bill reducing the duties on wines, 
passed into a law, after a close division in the house.- 

With the view of providing a remedy for certain difficulties in the pro- 
cess in the courts of the United States, a bill was introduced at the com- 
mencement of the session, regulating the process of federal courts in 
those states admitted into the Union since the year 1789. This bill, 
which was intended for the convenience of the new states, after consider- 
able discussion, passed both houses and became a law. 

The vice-president, Mr. Calhoun, having construed his powers as pre- 
siding officer of the senate, as not permiting him to preserve order in that 
body, it became necessary to pass some resolution declaring it to be within 
the scope of his authority. An amendment to the rules was accordingly 
offered at this session, declaring that every question of order should be 
decided by the president of the senate, without debate, subject to appeal 
to the senate. 

This simple proposition excited a long and eloquent debate in the sen- 
ate, in which the opposition generally sustained the view taken by the 
vice-president of his powers. They thought the authority proposed by 
the amendment to vest in the presiding officer, as of the most aristocratic 
character, and threatening the most alarming consequences. The amend- 
ment, however, was adopted, by a vote of 31 ayes to 15 nays. 

The other business of the session did not possess much permanent in- 
terest. The tariff and the presidential election seemed to have absorbed 
the faculties, and engrossed all the attention of the members, and after a 
long and rather angry session, Congress adjourned on the 26th of May, 
without much regret on the part of the community, at the termination of its 
protracted debates. 

The presidential election took place in the autumn of 1828, in the midst 
of a highly-excited state of public feeling, brought on by protracted dis- 
cussions on the characters of the candidates for the presidency, and the 
political questions involved in the contest. These discussions had been 
carried on through the public press, and at assemblages of the people, in all 
parts of the Union. The most strenuous exertions were used by each 
party, and the contest was most animated. The result was the defeat of 
Mr. Adams, and the election of General Jackson as president, and Mr. 
Calhoun as vice-president, for the ensuing term of four years. In the 
electoral colleges the vote stood 178 for General Jackson, and 83 for 
Mr. Adams. The candidates for vice-president were Mr. Calhoun, who 
was re-elected by 171 votes (7 being given for WiUiam Smith, of South Car- 
olina), and Richard Rush, who received the same vote as Mr. Adams. The 
number of electoral votes received by Mr. Adams, was one less than he 
received in 1824, while those given to General Jackson exceeded by one 
vote the united votes of Jackson, Crawford, and Clay, in 1824. 

A change in the cabinet of Mr. Adams took place In May, 1828, Mr. 
18 



274 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

Barbour, secretary of war, having been appointed minister to England, 
General Peter B. Porter, of New York, was appointed secretary of war 
in his place. 

The election having terminated unfavorably, Mr. Adams and the mem- 
bers of his administration turned their attention to closing the business com- 
mitted to them, and to presenting to the nation a full and clear statement 
of the existing state of public affairs, before they gave place to their suc- 
cessors. This was done in the president's message, and in the reports from 
the different departments, to the 20th Congress, at their last session. 
That session was held from the 1st of December, 1828, to the 3d of 
March, 1829. 

The president's message was an able review of the condition of the 
country, and of the condition of our domestic and foreign relations. It 
differed from his three former annual messages, in now discussing the sub- 
ject of the tariff, which had before been omitted. A strong hope was 
expressed, that the exercise of a constitutional power intended to protect 
the great interests of the country from the hostile legislation of foreign 
countries, would never be abandoned. 

Congress appeared inclined, this session, to provide only for the neces- 
sities of the government. The term of the existing administration was- 
too short to allow it to do more than to bring its affairs to a close ; and the 
views and policy of the succeeding administration were not yet developed. 
Certain measures, however, affecting the navigating interest, were urged 
upon the consideration of Congress, and the policy of some of these was 
too obvious to be overlooked. The first of these propositions was a bill 
extending the term within which goods may be exported, with the benefit 
of drawback, without any deduction. Another bill allowed an additional 
drawback on the exportation of refined sugar ; both of these bills were 
passed and became laws. 

A tonnage bill introduced in the house, more directly affecting the navi- 
gating interest, met with a less favorable reception. This bill proposed 
to repeal the tonnage duties upon American vessels, and all vessels placed 
by treaty on the same footing. It passed the house after considerable 
debate, but was rejected in the senate. 

The twentieth Congress was liberal in appropriations for internal com- 
munications, by roads and canals, and improvements of the seacoast. The 
question of constitutionality, as well as the expediency of internal improve- 
ments by the general government, underwent a full discussion in the house, 
and the principle was deliberately sanctioned by majorities in both branches. 
A subscription of one million of dollars was authorized to the stock of the 
Chesapeake and Ohio canal company ; a grant of public lands to aid the 
state of Ohio in making a canal from the Miami river to Lake Erie ; and 
four hundred thousand acres were granted to the state of Alabama, to be 
applied to improvements by canal or otherwise, on the Tennessee river. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 275 

A bill was also introduced into the senate, which ultimately became a law, 
appropriating $250,000 for constructing a breakwater in Delaware bay ; 
the construction of a military road in Maine, was also authorized, and 
$15,000 appropriated for that purpose. 

A bill providing for a voyage of discovery and exploring expedition in 
the South seas and Pacific ocean, passed the house, but was lost in the 
senate. Bills of considerable importance, authorizing the president to 
expose to public sale the reserved lead mines and salt springs in the state 
of Missouri, passed both houses. 

The main business of the session was the legislation on the subject of 
the Cumberland road. The house decided, by a considerable majority, 
in favor of both the constitutionality and expediency of erecting gates, and 
imposing a system of tolls, in order to keep the road in repair. The sen- 
ate, without discussing the constitutional power, struck out the sections 
relating to toll-gates and the one hundred thousand dollars required to 
put the road in repair. Another bill passed both houses, appropriating 
money for the construction of the road westwardly from Zanesville in 
Ohio. 

The appropriations for the public service did not occasion much discus- 
sion at this session. The excitement of the presidential election was 
followed by a reaction in the public mind ; and the interest felt by the 
members in the arrangements for organizing a new administration, left but 
little inclination for a critical examination of the estimates for the ensuing 
year. 

A treaty concluded with Brazil, recognising the liberal commercial prin- 
ciples of the United States, was not ratified until after the accession of 
General Jackson to the presidency, although it was completed under the 
administration of Mr. Adams. 

The presidential contest having been decided, the business of Congress 
was transacted with less interruption from political discussion than usual, 
and this session was characterized by greater freedom from party asperity 
than the last. 

" Thus terminated the administration of John Quincy Adams ; and what- 
ever opinion may be entertained of its policy, and its tendency, it can not be 
denied that its character was marked and definite ; and that it exercised a 
strong influence upon the interests of the country. The merits and de- 
merits of his policy were positive, and not negative. Certain definite 
objects were proposed as desirable, and the energies of the government 
were directed toward their attainment. 

" The United States, during this administration, enjoyed uninterrupted 
peace ; and the foreign policy of the government had only in view the 
maintenance of the dignity of the national character ; the extension of its 
commercial relations, and the successful prosecution of the claims of 
American citizens upon foreign governments. 



276 ADMINISTRATION OF JOHN Q. ADAMS. 

" It was, however, in the domestic policy of the government that the 
character of the administration was most strongly displayed. During its 
continuance in office, new and increased activity was imparted to those 
powers vested in the federal government for the development of the re- 
sources of the country ; and the public revenue liberally expended in 
prosecuting those national measures to which the sanction of Congress 
had been deliberately given as the settled policy of the government. 

" More than one million of dollars had been expended in enlarging and 
maintaining the lighthouse establishment ; half a million in completing the 
public buildings ; two millions in erecting arsenals, barracks, and furnish- 
ing the natioflal armories ; nearly the same amount had been expended in 
permanent additions to the naval establishment ; upward of three millions 
had been devoted to fortifying the seacoast ; and more than four millions 
expended in improving the internal communications between different parts 
of the country, and in procuring information, by scientific surveys, con- 
cerning its capacity for further improvement. Indeed, more had been 
directly effected by the aid of government, in this respect, during Mr. Ad- 
ams's administration, than during the administrations of all his predeces- 
sors. Other sums, exceeding a million, had been appropriated for objects 
of a lasting character, and not belonging to the annual expense of the 
government ; making in the whole, nearly fourteen millions of dollars ex- 
pended for the permanent benefit of the country, during this administration. 

" At the same time, the interest on the public debt was punctually paid, 
and the debt itself was in a constant course of reduction, having been di- 
minished $30,373,188 during this administration, and leaving due, on the 
first of January, 1829, $58,362,136. While these sums were devoted to 
increasing the resources and improving the condition of the country, and 
in discharging its pecuniary obligations, those claims which were derived 
from what are termed the imperfect obligations of gratitude and humanity, 
were not forgotten. 

"More than five millions of dollars were appropriated to solace the decli- 
ning years of the surviving officers of the revolution ; and a million and a 
half expended, in extinguishing the Indian title, and defraying the expense 
of the removal, beyond the Mississippi, of such tribes as were unqualified 
for a residence near civilized communities, and in promoting the civili- 
zation of those who, relying on the faith of the United States, preferred to 
remain on the lands which were the abodes of their fathers. 

" In the condition which we have described, in peace with all the world, 
with an increasing revenue, and with a surplus of $5,125,638 in the pub- 
lic treasury, the administration of the government of the United States was 
surrendered by Mr. Adams on the third of March, he having previously left 
the governmental house, and relinquished the executive power. The next 
day General Jackson entered upon the administration of the government."* 
• American Annual Register. 




€...^^^i^-7-uyn^C^<) cz^^^^i-c^J- 



'<J'-(Tl'-y^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OP 



ANDREW JACKSON. 



The ancestors of Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United 
States, were among the emigrants from Scotland to the province of Ul- 
ster, in Ireland, at a period vi^hen it viras the policy of the English gov- 
ernment to promote the colonization of settlers from England and Scotland 
on the confiscated lands of the Irish. The family of Jackson vi^as therefore 
of Scottish origin ; and they were attached to the presbyterian church. 
Hugh Jackson, the grandfather of the subject of the present sketch, was a 
linen draper, near Carrickfergus, in Ireland. His four sons were respectable 
farmers ; of whom Andrew, the youngest, married Elizabeth Hutchinson, 
and had in Ireland two sons, Hugh and Robert. The unfortunate condi- 
tion of his native country induced him to dispose of his farm, and in 1765, 
with his wife and children, to emigrate to America, and settle in South 
Carolina. Samuel Jackson, a son of another of the brothers, at a subse- 
quent period, emigrated to Pennsylvania, and became a citizen of Phila- 
delphia. 

Three of the neighbors of Andrew Jackson, named Crawford, emigra- 
ted to America with him, and the four emigrants purchased lands and set- 
tled in the Waxhaw settlement. South Carolina, near the line of North 
Carolina. 

On this plantation of his father, at Waxhaw settlement, Andrew Jackson, 
the subject of this memoir, was born, on the 15th of March, 1767. His 
father died about the time of his birth, leaving his farm to his widow, and 
his name to his infant son. 

Left with three young sons, and moderate means, Mrs. Jackson gave 
her two oldest, a common school education, while the youngest she de- 
sired to see prepared for the ministry, and, at a proper age, placed him 
under the tuition of Mr. Humphries, principal of the Waxhaw academy, 
where he made considerable progress in his studies, including latin and 



/ 



278 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

Greek, until interrupted by the events of the war of the revolution. Al- 
though but about eight years of age, when the first conflicts between the 
British and Americans took place, Andrew Jackson soon became accus- 
tomed to the stirring scenes around him, of the friends and neighbors of 
his mother training themselves for battle, and preparing to defend their 
homes from the attacks and ravages of the invading foe. 

The British commanding officers in America having resolved to carry the 
war into the southern states ; Savannah, in Georgia, was taken in 1778, and 
South Carolina invaded in the spring of 1779. The militia were summoned 
to the field to repel them, and Hugh Jackson, the 'oldest brother of An- 
drew, lost his life in the fatigues of the service. A battle took place at 
the Waxhaw settlement, between the British and Americans, in "May, 
1780, when 113 Americans were killed, and 150 wounded. Considera- 
ble ammunition and stores fell into the hands of the enemy. In the Wax- 
haw meetinghouse, where the wounded were carried, Andrew Jackson, 
then thirteen years of age, first saw the horrors of war. The mangled 
bodies of his countrymen confirmed the impression made upon his youth- 
ful mind by the tales of English oppression and cruelty which he had so 
often heard from his mother and kindred, while relating scenes of tyranny 
in Ireland, from which his father had fled to find a retreat in America.* 

In the summer of 1780, Andrew Jackson, being then but little more 
than thirteen years of age, in company with his brother Robert, joined a 
corps of volunteers, under the command of Colonel Davie, to attempt the 
defence of that part of the country against a body of British troops and 
tories who had penetrated into the interior of the Carolinas. Davie's 
corps was attached to General Sumter's brigade, and an action took place 
on the 6th of August, 1780, between the American troops and the British 
and tories, at a place called Hanging Rock. The corps of Davie, in which 
the young Jacksons fought, particularly distinguished itself, and suflered 
heavy loss. 

Not being regularly attached to any military corps, on account of their 
youth, Robert and Andrew Jackson did not participate in many of the numer- 
ous aflTairs in which the. Americans were engaged with the British during 
their long campaign in the Carolinas. They retired with their mother into 
North Carolina for some time, leaving their home on the approach of the 
British army in that quarter. In 1781, both of the boys were taken pris- 
oners by a party of dragoons. While a prisoner, Andrew Jackson was 
ordered by a British officer to clean his muddy boots, which the young 
soldier refusing, he received a wound with a sword from the officer, and the 
wound left a scar which Jackson carried with him to his grave. His brother 
Robert, for a similar oflence, received a wound on his head, fyom the effects 
of which he never recovered. The brothers were retained some time in 

• For the facts in the first part of this memoir, we are indebted principally to Kendall's 
Life of Jackson. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON.' 279 

captivity, at Camden, where their sufferings were great from their wounds, 
and the small-pox, then prevalent among the prisoners. Being finally re- 
leased, by exchange, the Jacksons, accompanied by their mother, returned 
home to the Waxhaw settlement, where Robert died in two days after- 
ward. By kind nursing and the care of a physician, Andrew finally recov- 
ered from a dangerous sickness. His mother died soon after this, from 
the effects of a fever taken on board the prison-ship at CharlestDn, whither 
she went on an adventure of kindness and mercy, for the relief of some of 
her relatives and friends confined on board of that vessel. Thus every 
member of the Jackson family which came from Ireland to America to 
escape British oppression, perished through the effects of the same 
oppression in America. The only remnant of the family was an Ameri- 
can-born son, who, through many perils, lived to be the avenger of his 
race. 

At the close of the war of the revolution, Andrew Jackson was left 
alone in the. world, his own master, with some little property, but without 
the benefit of parental counsel or restraint. At first associating with idle 
young men, he imbibed loose and extravagant habits, which he suddenly 
determined to reform. Changing his course of life, he commenced the 
study of law, at Salisbury, North Carolina, with Spruce M'Cay, Esq., then 
an eminent counsellor, and subsequently a judge of distinction. This was 
in the winter of 1784, when he was in his eighteenth year. He finished 
his studies under Colonel Stokes, and in a little more than two years he 
was licensed to practise law. Soon after this, without solicitation on his 
part, he received from the governor of North Carolina the appointment of 
solicitor for the western district of that state, embracing the present state 
of Tennessee. 

At the age of twenty-one, in 1788, Andrew Jackson, accompanied by 
Judge McNairy, crossed the mountains to take up his abode in Tennes- 
see, then the western district of North Carolina. For several months he 
resided at Jonesborough, then the principal seat of justice in that district. 
In 1789, he first visited the infant settlements on the Cumberland river, 
near the present site of Nashville. The settlers had at this time many 
difficulties with the Indians, who were then numerous and hostile to the 
whites. During this perilous period, Jackson performed twenty-two jour- 
neys across the wilderness of two hundred miles, then intervening between 
Jonesborough and the Cumberland settlements. He was frequently under 
arms, with other settlers, to protect parties of emigrants from the attacks 
of the Indians. He was also engaged in several expeditions against the 
Indians, in one of which, in 1794, the native town of Nickajack, near the 
Tennessee river, was destroyed. By his gallantry in these affairs, Jack- 
son became well known to the Indians, who gave him the names of 
" Sharp Knife'''' and "Pointed Arrow." He gained equally their respect 
and that of his companions, the hardy settlers of Tennessee. 



280 -BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSOJf. 

Having determined to make the neighborhood of Nashville his perma- 
nent home, Jackson, with his friend Judge Overton, became boarders in 
the family of Mrs. Donelson, the widow of Colonel John Donelson, an 
emigrant from Virginia. Mrs. Rachel Robards, her daughter, who after- 
ward became the wife of Jackson, was then living with her mother. This 
lady was celebrated for her beauty, affability, and other attractions. Her 
husband, Captain Robards, was a man of dissolute habits and jealous dis- 
position. A separation took place, and Robards applied to the legislature 
of Virginia for a divorce ; soon after, intelligence was received that his 
petition had been granted. Mrs. Robards was then at Natchez, on the 
Mississippi, and Jackson, considering that she was free to form a new 
connexion, in the summer of 1791 went down to Natchez, paid her his 
addresses, and was accepted. In the fall they were married, and returned 
to the Cumberland, where they were cordially received by their mutual 
friends. 

In December, 1793, Jackson learned, for the first time, that the act of 
the Virginia legislature did not grant a divorce, but only authorized a suit 
for divorce in a Kentucky court, which had just been brought to a success- 
ful issue. Surprised and mortified at this information, on his return to 
Nashville, in January, 1794, he took out a license, and was again regularly 
married. The conduct of Jackson in this affair was considered, by those 
familiar with the circumstances, correct and honorable, and perfectly con- 
sistent with true morality. His friend and confidential associate remarks : 
" In his singularly delicate sense of honor, and in what I thought his 
chivalrous conception of the female sex, it occurred to me that he was 
distinguished from every other person with whom I was acquainted." 

Jackson, after his marriage, applied himself with renewed diligence to 
his profession in the practice of the law. Circumstances connected with 
his professional business required the exercise of his firmness of character 
and courage, in no ordinary degree. There had been a combination of 
debtors against him, as he was employed by creditors for the collection of 
claims, which he succeeded in breaking down, but not without making bit- 
ter enemies. Bullies were stimulated to attack and insult him, and thus 
brought him into several personal contests, which generally ended in a 
severe punishment of the aggressors, by the bold and fearless Jackson. 

In 1795, the people of Tennessee elected delegates to a convention for 
the formation of a state constitution, preparatory to admission into the 
Union. Of that convention Jackson was chosen a member by his neigh- 
bors, and took an active part in the formation of the constitution. The 
convention sat at Knoxville from the 11th of January to the 6th of Febru- 
ary, 1796, and Tennessee was admitted into the Union as a state, by act 
of Congress, on the 1st of June, the same year. Jackson was chosen the 
first representative from the new state in Congress, and took his seat in 
the house on the 5th of December, 1796. His term expired on the 3d 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 281 

of March following, and he was prevented from continuing longer in that 
body, being elected by the legislature of Tennessee to the senate of the 
United States, where he took his seat on the 22d of November, 1797, be- 
ing then only a few months over thirty years of age. He appears not to 
have been ambitious or anxious for political distinction at that time, for, 
after serving one session, he resigned his seat in the senate. During his 
short career in Congress, it is believed that he made no speeches ; but in 
his votes he acted with the democratic party, opposing the administration 
of Washington at its close, and subsequently that of John Adams. While 
a member of the house, he was one of a minority of twelve democrats, 
among whom were Edward Livingston, Nathaniel Macon, and William B. 
Giles, who voted against an answer to Washington's last speech to Con- 
gress ; because that answer expressly approved of the measures of Wash- 
ington's administration, some of which were condemned by the democratic 
party. The state gave her first vote for president to Mr. Jefferson in 1796, 
which vote she repeated in 1800. In the political revolution which ele- 
vated Mr. Jefferson to the presidency, Jackson participated, and acted with 
the friends of Mr. Jefferson ; but little effort was required, however, to 
secure the vote for the democratic candidates, in a state so uniformly de- 
voted to that party as Tennessee. 

At this period, the popularity of Jackson in Tennessee was equal, if it 
did not eicceed that of any other citizen of the state. Soon after his resig- 
nation as senator, the legislature again honored him by conferring upon him 
the appointment of judge of the supreme court of the state. This office he 
accepted, and for a time .performed the duties of the station ; but, owing 
to ill health, he determined to resign and retire to private life. This in- 
tention he was induced to defer for the present, in consequence of remon- 
strances from members of the legislature and others, who entreated him to 
remain upon the bench. 

The circumstances in which Jackson was placed, and his course in 
several public affairs, occasioned a misunderstanding between him and 
other leading men in Tennessee. Among those who became his enemies, 
were Judge McNairy and Governor Sevier. A personal quarrel with the 
latter occasioned a challenge from Judge Jackson, which was accepted by 
the governor, and the parties, without any formal arrangement, met on 
horseback, each armed with a brace of pistols, the governor having also a 
sword, while Jackson had a cane, which he carried as a spear. Putting 
spurs to his horse, he charged upon his antagonist in a bold and unexpected 
manner, and the governor dismounted to avoid the shock. The inter- 
ference of the governor's attendants prevented any serious mischief, and 
by the intercession of mutual friends further hostile intentions were aban- 
doned. The affair, however, occasioned sundry angry publications by the 
friends of the respective parties, which show the peculiar state of society 



2S2 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

then existing in the frontier settlements, where men holding the highest 
public stations were engaged in personal rencounters. 

Previous to his affair with Governor Sevier, Jackson was appointed 
major-general of the militia of the state, viz., in 1802. His competitor 
was John Sevier, who was then also a candidate for governor. The votes 
of the officers by whom the appointment of general was made being equal- 
ly divided, the decision devolved on Governor Roane, who gave it in favor 
of Jackson. 

On the purchase of Louisiana from France, in 1803, by the United 
States, there were apprehensions of a difficulty with Spain, when the 
Americans should take possession of the territory. The Tennessee mili- 
tia were called upon for aid in case of need, and by request of the secre- 
tary of war. General Jackson caused boats to be prepared to transport the 
troops to New Orleans ; but neither the boats, nor his own proffered ser- 
vices, were required, as the Spaniards made no resistance to the peaceful 
transfer and occupation of Louisiana. 

In 1804, General Jackson, having served six years on the bench, re- 
signed his office of judge of the supreme court. His biographer and 
friend, Mr. Kendall, remarks, that he " was not made for what is usually 
called a first-rate lawyer. His mode of reasoning would not permit him 
to seek for justice through a labyrinth of technicalities and special plead- 
ing. Yet few, if any, exceeded him in seizing on the strong joints of a 
case, and with vigor and clearness applying to them the great principles 
of law. As a lawyer, in criminal prosecutions, the case of his client always 
became his own, and he was considered one of the most eloquent and 
effective among his contemporaries. As a judge, his opinions were always 
clear, short, and to the point, aiming at justice, without the affectation of 
eloquence, or of superior learning. His retirement from the bench grati- 
fied only those who feared his justice, while it was deeply regretted by a 
large majority of the community." 

After his resignation as judge, General Jackson found that retirement 
which he had long desired. Having acquired a moderate fortune, he took 
up his residence on his plantation on the banks of the Cumberland, near 
Nashville, and not far from that which he subsequently occupied under 
the name of the Hermitage. His time was now devoted to the pursuits 
of agriculture, in one of the finest districts of country in the United States, 
and his house was always the abode of hospitality, where his numerous 
friends and acquaintance were received by him with a cordial welcome. 

In addition to other pursuits on his plantation, much of General Jack- 
son's attention was given to the raising of fine horses, from the most im- 
proved breeds of the southern states. He consequently became a fre- 
quenter of race-courses at the west, to bring out his favorite horses, and 
occasionally lost and won in the sports of the turf. These affairs led to one 
of the most unfortunate events of hrs life. In consequence of a quarrel, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 283 

which ended in blows, between Jackson and Charles Dickinson, on the 
subject of a bet made at a horse-race, followed by an abusive publication 
on the part of Dickinson, charging Jackson with cowardice ; the general 
sent Dickinson a challenge. The duel took place at Harrison's mills, on 
Red river, in Kentucky, on the 30th of" May, 1806. The word being 
given, Dickinson fired first, his ball taking effect in Jackson's breast, and 
shattering two of his ribs ; the next instant Jackson fired, although thus 
severely wounded, and Dickinson fell ; he was taken to a neighboring 
house, and survived but a few hours. This melancholy affair caused 
much excitement in Tennessee at the time, and various publications on 
the subject appeared from the friends of the respective parties, and General 
Jackson himself ; but the certificates of the seconds declared that the duel 
had been fairly conducted, according to the previous understanding of the 
parties. The firmness of nerve displayed by General Jackson in this duel 
was remarkable, considering that he was wounded before discharging his 
pistol. Some weeks transpired before he recovered from the effects of 
his wounds. 

During the short period while General Jackson was a member of Con- 
gress, he had formed the acquaintance of Colonel Aaron Burr, who, in 
1805, visited the western country, and spent several days at the residence 
of Jackson. Burr, in his journal, describes the general as " once a law- 
yer, after a judge, now a planter ; a man of intelligence ; and one of 
those prompt, frank, ardent souls whom I love to meet." The gen- 
eral treated him with great kindness and hospitality, and understanding 
that his object was the settlement of a tract of land in Louisiana, and the 
making arrangements for the invasion of Mexico, in case of a war with 
Spain, he rendered him such assistance as he could afford, and procured 
for him a boat to descend the Cumberland river. 

In 1806, Colonel Burr again returned to the western country, and com- 
menced preparations for an expedition. General Jackson offered to ac- 
company him to Mexico with a body of troops, in case of a war with 
Spain ; but declined holding communication with him if he had any hos- 
tile intentions against the United States. Burr assured him, in the most 
positive terms, that he had no such hostile design ; but Jackson having his 
suspicions, the previous intimacy between him and Burr ceased. He 
afterward received orders from the war department to call out the military, 
if necessary, to suppress Burr's projects, and arrest Burr himself. Twelve 
military companies of the militia under his command, were ordered out by 
General Jackson, but as Burr had descended the Cumberland and Missis- 
sippi rivers, with only a few unarmed men, the general dismissed the 
troops, and reported his proceedings to the government. 

After Burr was arrested and taken to Richmond, Virginia, for trial, on 
a charge of treason against the United States, General Jackson was sum- 
moned as a witness, but was not examined. He knew nothing tending to 



284 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

criminate the accused, and his evidence, if given, would have been in 
favor of Burr. It may be here remarked, that Colonel Burr's respect for 
General Jackson continued through life ; and he always spoke of him as 
a man of integrity and honor. It is believed that he w^as the first to name 
him (though this was then unknown to the general himself ), as early as 1815, 
in his private correspondence, as a suitable candidate for the presidency. 

General Jackson continued in private life, attending to his agricultural 
employments, until the war of 1812 with Great Britain. Having become 
interested in a mercantile establishment in Nashville, the management of 
which he intrusted to his partner in that business, he became seriously 
involved in the debts of the concern, which he was compelled to close ; 
and, for the payment of his debts, sold his residence and plantation. He 
then retired into a log-cabin, near the place since called " the Hermitage," 
and commenced the world anew. By a prudent and economical manage- 
ment of his afl'airs, he soon retrieved his pecuniary condition, and agaiu 
became possessed of the means of comfort and enjoyment. 

But a period approached when the pleasures and endearments of home 
were to be abandoned, for the duties of more active life. War with Great 
Britain was declared by the Congress of the United States on the 12th of 
June, 1812. General Jackson, ever devoted to the interests of his coun- 
try, from the moment of the declaration knew no wish so strong as that 
of entering into her service against a power which, independent of public 
considerations, he had many private reasons for disliking. In her he 
could trace sufferings and injuries received, and the efficient cause why, 
in early life, he had been left forlorn and wretched, without a single rela- 
tion in the world. His proud and inflexible mind, however, could not 
bend to solicit an appointment in the army which was about to be raised. 
He accordingly remained wholly unknown, until, at the head of the militia 
employed against the Creek Indians, his constant vigilance, and the 
splendor of his victories, apprized the general government of those great 
military talents which he so eminently possessed and conspicuously 
displayed, when opportunities for exerting them were afforded. 

The acts of Congress on the 6th of February and July, 1812, afforded 
the means of bringing into view a display of those powers which, being 
unknown, unfortunately might have slumbered in inaction. Under the 
authority of these acts, authorizing the president to accept the services of 
fifty thousand volunteers, he addressed the citizens of his division, and 
twenty-five hundred flocked to his standard. A tender of them having 
been made, and the offer accepted, in November he received orders to 
place himself at their head and to descend the Mississippi, for the de- 
fence of the lower country, which was then supposed to be in danger. 
Accordingly, on the 10th of December, 1812, those troops rendezvoused 
at Nashville, prepared to advance to their place of destination ; and 
although the weather was then excessively severe, and the ground covered 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 285 

with snow, no troops could have displayed greater firmness. The gen- 
eral was everywhere with them, inspiring them with the ardor that ani- 
mated his own bosom.* 

Having procured supplies, and made the necessary arrangements for an 
active campaign, they proceeded, the 7th of Januar}', 1813, on their jour- 
ney, and descending the Ohio and Mississippi, through cold and ice, ar- 
rived and halted at Natchez. Here Jackson had been instructed to remain, 
until he should receive further orders. » Having chosen a healthy site for 
the encampment of his troops, he devoted hfs time to training and prepar- 
ing them for active service. The clouds of war, however, in that quarter 
having blown over, an order was received from the secretary of war, dated 
the fifth of January, directing him, on receipt thereof, to dismiss those im- 
der his command from service, and to take measures for delivering over 
every article of public property in his possession to General Wilkinson, 
When this order reached his camp, there were one hundred and fifty on 
the sick report, and almost the whole of them destitute of the means of 
defraying the expenses of their return. The consequence of a strict com- 
pliance with the secretary's order, would have been, that many of the sick 
must have perished, while most of the others, from their destitute condi- 
tion, would, of necessity, have been compelled to enlist in the regular 
army, under General Wilkinson. f 

General Jackson could not think of sacrificing or injuring an army that 
had shown such devotedness to their country ; and he determined to dis- 
regard the order, and march them again to their homes in Tennessee, 
where they had been embodied. This determination met with the disap- 
probation of his field-officers and of General Wilkinson ; but persisting in 
his design, General Jackson marched the whole of his division to the sec- 
tion of country whence they had been drawn, and dismissed them from 
service, as he had been instructed. The sick were transported in wagons, 
at the same time. It was at a time of the year when the roads were bad, 
and the swamps, lying in their passage, deep and full ; yet the general 
placed before his troops an example of patience under hardships that lulled 
to silence all complaints, and won to him, still stronger than before, the 
esteem and respect of every one. On arriving at Nashville, he communi- 
cated to the president of the United States the course he had pursued, and 
the reasons that had induced it. His conduct was in the end approved, 
and the expenses incurred directed to be paid by the government. 

The volunteers who had descended the river having been discharged, 
early in May, 1813, there was little expectation that they would again be 
called for. Tennessee was too remotely situated in the interior, to expect 
their services would be required for the defence of the state ; and thus 
far, the British had discovered no serious intention of waging operations 
against any part of Louisiana. Their repose, however, was not of long 
* Eaton's Life of Jackson. f Ibid. 



286 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

duration. The Creek Indians, inhabiting the country lying between the 
Chattahoochee and Tombigbee rivers, and extending from the Tennessee 
river to the Florida line, had lately manifested strong symptoms of hostility 
tow^ard the United States. This disposition was greatly strengthened 
through means used by the northern Indians, who were then making prep- 
arations for a war against the United States, and who wished to engage 
the southern tribes in the same enterprise. 

An artful impostor had, about this time, sprung up among the Shawnees, 
a northern tribe, who, by pas^ng for a prophet, had acquired a most aston- 
ishing influence among his own and the neighboring Indian tribes. He 
succeeded in a short time in kindling a phrensy and rage against the Anglo- 
Americans, which soon after burst forth in acts of desti-uctive violence. His 
brother, Tecumseh, who became so famous during the war, and who was 
killed subsequently at the battle of the Thames, in Canada, was despatched 
to the southern tribes, to excite in them the same temper. To the Creeks, 
then the most numerous and powerful of the southern Indians, he directed 
his principal attention, and in the spring of 1812 he had repeated confer- 
ences with the chiefs of that nation. Deriving his powers from his brother, 
the prophet, whose extraordinary commission and endowments were, pre- 
vious to this, well understood by the tribes in the south, his authority was 
regarded with the highest veneration. To afford additional weight to his 
councils, Tecumseh gave assurances of aid and support from Great Britain ; 
and having made other arrangements to carry out his plans, he returned to 
his own tribe. 

From this time, a regular communication was kept up between the Creeks 
and the northern tribes ; while depredations were committed on the fron- 
tier settlers by parties of the allied Indians. In the summer of 1812, sev- 
eral families were murdered near the mouth of the Ohio, and soon after- 
ward similar outrages were committed in Tennessee and Georgia. These 
acts were not sanctioned by the chiefs of the Creek nation, for, on appli- 
cation to them by the general government, the offenders were punished 
with death. No sooner was this done, than the spirit of the greater part 
of the nation suddenly kindled into civil war. 

They first attacked their own countrj-men who were friendly to the Uni- 
ted States, and compelled them to retire toward the white settlements for 
protection. After this, they collected a supply of ammunition from the 
Spaniards at Pensacola, and, on the 30th of August, 1813, commenced an 
assault on Fort Mimms, in the Mississippi territory, which they succeeded 
in carrying, and put to death nearly three hundred persons, including 
women and children, with the most savage barbarity. Only seventeen of 
the whole number in the fort escaped, to bring intelligence of the catas- 
trophe. 

This monstrous and unprovoked outrage was no sooner known in Ten- 
nessee, than the whole state was thrown into a ferment, and immediate 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON, 287 

measures were taken to inflict exemplary punishment on the hostile In- 
dians. The legislature, by the advice of numerous citizens, among whom 
were the governor and General Jackson, authorized the executive to call 
into the field 3,500 men, to be marched against the Indians The troops 
were placed under the command of General Jackson, notwithstanding he 
was at the time seriously indisposed, from the eff'ects of a fractured arm, 
owing to a wound received by him from a pistol-shot, in a fight with 
Colonel Thomas H. Benton, at a public house in Nashville. 

The army under General Jackson marched into the Indian country in 
October, 1813. Crossing the Tennessee river, and learning that a large 
body of the enemy had posted themselves at Tallushatchee, on the river 
Coosa ; General Coffee was detached with nine hundred men to attack and 
disperse them. This was effected, with a small loss on the part of the 
Tennessee troops, while the Indians lost 186 killed, among whom were 
unfortunately, and through accident, a few women and children. Eighty- 
four Indian women and children were taken prisoners, and treated with 
the utmost humanity. 

Another battle with over a thousand of the Creeks, took place shortly 
after, at Talladega, thirty miles below Tallushatchee ; the Tennessee 
troops being commanded by General Jackson in person ; when 300 Indians 
were left dead on the field, and about as many more slain in their flight. 

This campaign was protracted much longer than would otherwise have 
been the case, in consequence of the want of supplies of provisions for the 
army, which caused large numbers of the troops to return to their homes. 
Having at length obtained supplies, and being joined by more troops. General 
Jackson advanced still further into the enemy's country. Several battles 
took place with the Indians, the most sanguinary of which was that of 
Tohopeka or the Horseshoe, at the bend of the Tallapoosa river. On 
that occasion, 557 warriors, of 1,000 in the engagement, were found dead 
on the field, besides many others who were killed and thrown into the 
river, while the battle raged, or shot in attempting to escape by swimming. 
Over 300 prisoners were taken, all, but three or four, women and children. 
In this and other battles, the whitens were assisted by a considerable body 
of friendly Creek and Cherokee Indians, who engaged in pursuing and de- 
stroying their fugitive countrymen with the most unrelenting rigor ; " a cir- 
cumstance," says Eaton, in his life of Jackson, " which the patriot must ever 
view with abhorrence ; and although, from necessity or policy, he may 
be compelled to avail himself of the advantages afforded by such a cir- 
cumstance, he can never be induced either to approve or justify it." 

The battle of the Horsehoe gave a deathblow to the hopes of the In- 
dians ; nor did they venture afterward to make a stand. The principal 
chiefs came in, made their submission to General Jackson, and sued for 
peace ; the campaign was ended, and the troops were marched back to 
Tennessee and discharged. 



288 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

In May, 1814, General Jackson received the appointment of major-gen- 
eral in the army of the United States, on the resignation of General Har- 
rison. Previous to this appointment, a commission as brigadier and bre- 
vet major-general had been forwarded to General Jackson, but his com- 
mission for the higher office being received the day after the notification 
of the other, he had not sent his answer to the war department, and the 
appointment of major-general was accepted. 

The contest with the Indians being ended, the first and principal object 
of the government was, to enter into some definite arrangement which 
should deprive of success any effort that might thereafter be made, by other 
powers, to enlist those savages in their wars. None was so well calcula- 
ted to answer this end, as that of restricting their limits, so as to cut oflf 
their communication with British and Spanish agents, in East and West 
Florida. 

No treaty of friendship or boundary had yet been entered into by the 
government with the Indians ; they remained a conquered people, and 
within the limits, and subject to the regulations and restrictions wliich 
had been prescribed in March, 1814, by General Jackson, when he re- 
tired from the country. He was now, by the government, called upon to 
act in a new and different character, and to negotiate the terms upon 
which an amicable understanding should be restored between the United 
States and these conquered Indians. Colonel Hawkins, who for a con- 
siderable time past had been the agent to the Creek nation, was also as- 
sociated in the mission. 

On the 10th of July, 1814, General Jackson, with a small retinue, 
reached the Alabama; and on the 10th of August succeeded in procuring 
the execution of a treaty, in which the Indians pledged themselves no 
more to listen to foreign emissaries — to hold no communication with 
British or Spanish garrisons ; guarantied to the United States the right 
of erecting military posts in their country, and a free navigation of all 
their waters. They stipulated also, that they would sufi'er no agent or 
trader to pass among them, or hold any kind of commerce or intercourse 
with the nation, unless specially deriving his authority from the president 
of the United States.* 

The treaty also settled the boundary and defined the extent of territory 
secured to the Creeks, and that which they were required to surrender. 
Sufficient territory was acquired on the south by the United States, to give 
security to the Mobile settlements, and to the western borders of Georgia, 
effectually cutting off the communication of the Creeks with the Chicka- 
saws and Choctaws, and separating them from the Seminole tribes and 
other unfriendly Indians in Florida. 

The retreat of the savages in Florida had been always looked upon as 
a place whence the United States might apprehend serious difficulties to 

• Eaton. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 289 

arise. General Jackson entertained the belief that the British, through 
this channel, with the aid of the Spanish governor, had protected the In- 
dians, and supplied them with arms and ammunition. He received cer- 
tain information, when on his way to negotiate the treaty with the Indians, 
that about three hundred English troops had landed ; were fortifying 
themselves at the mouth of the Apalachicola, and were endeavoring to 
excite the Indians to war. No time was lost in giving the government 
notice of what was passing, and of the course he deemed advisable to be 
pursued. The advantages to be secured from the possession of Pensa- 
cola he had frequently urged. But the government were unwilling to en- 
counter the risk of a rupture with Spain, by authorizing the United 
States troops to enter her territory, while she occupied a neutral position, 
and Jackson was unable to obtain any answer to his repeated and pres- 
sing applications to be allowed to make a descent upon Pensacola, and re- 
duce it, which, he gave it as his opinion, would bring the war in the 
south to a speedy termination. The secretary of war, General Arm- 
strong, however, wrote him a letter on the 18th of July, 1814, which 
Jackson did not receive until the 17th of January, 1815, after the war was 
over, in which he remarked, that, " If the Spanish authorities admit, feed, 
arm, and co-operate with the British and hostile Indians, we must strike, 
on the broad principle of self-preservation ; under other and different cir- 
cumstances we must forbear." 

The general, afterward speaking of this transaction, remarked : " If 
this letter, or any hint that such a course would have been winked at by 
the government, had been received, it would have been in my power to 
have captured the British shipping in the bay. But acting on my own re- 
sponsibility, against a neutral power, it became essential for me to pro- 
ceed with more caution than my judgment or wishes approved, and conse- 
quently, important advantages were lost, which might have been secured." 

Having ascertained, through some Indian spies, that a considerable Eng- 
lish force had arrived in Florida, and that muskets and ammunition had 
been given to the Indians, General Jackson wrote to the Spanish governor 
of Pensacola, apprizing him of the information received, and demanding 
the surrender to him of such chiefs of the hostile Indians as were with 
him. The governor, after some delay, replied to this letter, denying that 
any hostile Indians were with him at that time ; nor could he refuse those 
Indians assistance, on the ground of hospitality, when their distresses were 
so great, or surrender them without acting in open violation of the laws of 
nations. He also demanded to be informed, if the United States wereig- 
norant that, at the conquest of Florida, there was a treaty between Great 
Britain and the Creek Indians, and whether they did not know that it still 
existed between Spain and those tribes. In the same letter, the governor 
accused the United States government of having harbored traitors from the 
19 



290 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

Mexican provinces, and of countenancing- pirates who had committed rob- 
beries upon the merchant-vessels of Spain. 

The general answered this letter by another equally high-toned, in which, 
among other things, he says : " Your excellency has been candid enough 
to admit your having supplied the Indians with arms. In addition to this, 
I have learned that a British flag has been seen flying on one of your 
forts. All this is done, while you are pretending to be neutral. You can 
not be surprised, then, but, on the contrary, will provide a fort in your 
town for my soldiers and Indians, should I take it in my head to pay you 
a visit. 

»' In future, I beg you to withhold your insulting charges against my 
government, for one more inclined to listen to slander than I am ; nor 
consider me any more as a diplomatic character, unless so proclaimed to 
you from the mouths of my cannon." 

Captain Gordon, who had been despatched to Pensacola, on his return, 
reported to the general, that he had seen from one hundred and fifty to 
two hundred oflicers and soldiers, a park of artillery, and about five hun- 
dred Indians, under the drill of British officers, armed with new muskets, 
and dressed in the English uniform. 

Jackson directly brought to the view of the government the information 
he had received, and again urged his favorite scheme, the reduction of 
Pensacola. Many difficulties were presented ; but, to have all things in 
a state of readiness for action, when the time should arrive to authorize it, 
he addressed the governors of Tennessee, Louisiana, and the Mississippi 
territory, informing them of the necessity of holding all the forces allotted 
for the defence of the southwestern military district, in a state of readiness 
to march at any notice, and to any point where they might be required. 
The warriors of the diff'erent Indian tribes were ordered to be marshalled, 
and taken into pay of the government. 

On the day afier completing his business at Fort Jackson, he departed 
for Mobile, to place the country in a state of defence. He had already 
despatched his adjutant-general. Colonel Butler, to Tennessee, with orders 
to raise volunteers ; and on the 28th September, 1814, two thousand able- 
bodied men, well supplied with rifles and muskets, assembled under the 
command of General Coffee, at Fayetteville, Tennessee, to march for Mo- 
bile, a distance of at least four hundred miles. The regular forces, lately 
enlisted, marched from Nashville to Mobile in about fourteen days. 

As General Jackson kept his own determination a secret, the idea could 
^arcely be entertained, that at this time he intended to advance against 
Pensacola on his own responsibility. He was not long in doubt as to the 
course proper to be pursued. Colonel Nicholls had arrived in August at 
that place, with a squadron of British ships, and taken up his quarters with 
the Spanish governor, Manrequez. He issued a proclamation to the in- 
habitants of the southwest, inviting them to join the British standard. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 291 

After waiting two weeks, he made an unsuccessful attack on Fort Bowyer, 
which commanded the entrance to Mobile bay. The fort was defended 
by Major Lawrence in so gallant a manner, that the British were com- 
pelled to retire, with the loss of one of their ships and about two hundred 
men. 

The British retired to Pensacola, and General Jackson determined, on 
his own responsibility, to enter Florida and take that town. General 
Coffee, with about twenty-eight hundred men, had arrived at Fort St. 
Stephens, on the Mobile river. General Jackson repaired to Coffee's 
camp, and made the necessary arrangement for marching into Florida. 
The quartermasters were destitute of funds, and the government credit was 
insufficient to procure supplies for the army. Thus situated, from his own 
limited funds, aiid loans effected on his credit and responsibility, he suc- 
ceeded in carrying his plans into effect, and in hastening his army to the 
place of its destination. 

The difficulty of subsisting cavalry on the route, rendered it necessary 
that part of the brigade should proceed on foot. Although they had vol- 
unteered in the service as mounted men, and expected that no different 
disposition would be made of them, yet they cheerfully acquiesced in the 
order ; and one thousand, abandoning their horses, to subsist as they could, 
on the reeds that grew along the river-bottoms, prepared to commence 
their march. Being supplied with rations for the trip, on the 2d day of 
November the line of march was taken up, and Pensacola was reached on 
the 6th. The British and Spaniards had obtained intelligence of their ap- 
proach and intended attack, and everything was in readiness to dispute 
their passage to the town. The forts were garrisoned, and prepared for 
resistance ; batteries formed in the principal streets ; and the British ves- 
sels moored within the bay, and so disposed as to command the main en- 
trances which led to Pensacola. 

The American array consisting of Coffee's brigade, the regulars, and a 
few Indians, in all about 3,000 men, had arrived within a mile and a half 
of the town, and formed their encampment. Before any final step was 
taken, General Jackson concluded to make a further application to the 
governor, and to learn of him what course, at the present moment, he 
would make it necessary for him to pursue. Major Piere was accord- 
ingly despatched with a flag, to disclose the object of the visit, and to 
require that the different forts, Barancas, St. Rose, and St. Michael, should 
be immediately surrendered, to be garrisoned and held by the United 
States, until Spain, by furnishing a sufficient force, might be able to pro- 
tect the province, and preserve her neutral character. 

This mission experienced no very favorable result. Major Piere, on 
approaching St. Michael's, was fired on, and compelled to return. The 
Spanish flag was displayed on the fort, and under it the outrage was com- 
mitted, although the British flag had been associated with it until the day 



292 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

before. Notwitlistanding this unprovoked outrage, General Jackson acted 
with forbearance, and sent another letter to the governor, asking an expla- 
nation. In answer, the go%^ernor stated that what had been done was not 
properly chargeable on him, but on the English ; and he assured the gen- 
eral of his perfect willingness to receive any overtures he might be pleased 
to make. 

Major Piere was again despatched to meet the offer of the governor. 
The surrender of the fortifications and munitions of war was demanded, to 
be receipted for, and become the subject of future arrangement by the 
respective governments. The governor, after advising with his council, 
rejected the propositions ; and as soon as the answer was received by 
Jackson, he resolved to urge his army forward, and, immediately com- 
mencing his march, proceeded to the accomplishment of his object, deter- 
mined to effect it, in despite of danger and of consequences. 

The American army was in motion early in the morning of the 7th of 
November. Pushing forward, they were soon in the streets, and sheltered 
by the houses from the cannon of the British vessels in the harbor. Cap- 
tain Laval, who commanded the advance, fell severely wounded, while 
he was charging a Spanish battery. From behind the houses and garden 
fences, constant volleys of musketry were discharged, until the regulars 
arriving, met the Spaniards, and drove them from their positions. 

The governor, panic-struck, and trembling for the safety of the city, 
hastened, bearing a flag in his hand, to find the commander, and seek to 
stay the carnage, and promised to consent to whatever terms might be 
demanded of him. 

No time was lost by General Jackson in procuring what was considered 
by him of vital importance — the surrender of the forts. A capitulation 
was agreed on the next day ; Pensacola and the different fortresses were 
to be retained by the United States, until Spain could better maintain her 
authority ; while the rights and privileges of her citizens were to be 
regarded and respected. 

Everything was in readiness the next day to take possession of Baran- 
cas fort, fourteen miles west of Pensacola. The American troops were 
ready for marching, when a tremendous explosion gave notice that all was 
destroyed. It was ascertained that the fort had been blown up, and that 
the British shipping had retired from the bay. On their retreat from Pen- 
sacola, the British carried off with them three or four hundred slaves, in 
spite of the remonstrances of the owners. 

The American loss in this expedition was quite inconsiderable. The 
left column alone met resistance, and had fifteen or twenty wounded — 
none killed. Captain Laval and Lieutenant Flournoy were among the 
number wounded. 

Deeming it unnecessary to think of garrisoning and attempting to hold the 
forts in Florida, Jackson concluded to redeliver all that had been surren- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 



293 



dered, and retire from the territory. Two days, therefore, after entering 
Pensacola, he abandoned it. He wrote to the Spanish governor, conclu- 
ding as follows : " The enemy has retreated ; the hostile Creeks have fled 
to the forest ; and I now retire from your town, leaving you to occupy 
your forts and protect the rights of your citizens." 

It had been for some time rumored and generally accredited, that a very 
considerable force might be expected from England, destined to act against 
some part of the United States, most probably New Orleans. The im- 
portance of this place was well known to the enemy ; it was the key to 
the entire commerce of the western country. Had a descent been made 
upon it a few months before, it might have been taken with all imaginable 
ease ; but the British had confidently indulged the belief that they could 
possess it at any time, without much difficulty. 

There was nothing now so much desired by General Jackson, as to be 
able to depart for New Orleans, where he apprehended the greatest dan- 
ger, and where he believed his presence was most material. He had 
already effected a partial security for Mobile, and the inhabitants in that 
vicinity. His health was still delicate, which almost wholly unfitted him 
for the duties he had to encounter ; but his constant expectation of a large 
force appearing on the coast, impelled him to action. General Coffee and 
Colonel Hinds, with their mounted men, were ordered to march, and take 
a position convenient to New Orleans, where they could find forage for their 
horses. Everything being arranged, and the command at Mobile left with 
General Winchester, Jackson on the 22d of November, left Mobile for 
New Orleans, where he arrived on the 1st of December, and where his 
headquarters were for the present established.* 

General Jackson was now on a new theatre, and soon to be brought in 
collision with an enemy diff"erent from any he had yet encountered ; the 
time had arrived to call forth all the energies he possessed. His body 
worn down by sickness and exhaustion, with a mind constantly alive to 
the apprehension, that, with the means given him, it would not be in his 
power to satisfy his own wishes, and the expectations of his country, 
were circumstances well calculated to depress him. 

Louisiana, he well knew, was ill supplied v/ith arms, and contained 
a mixed population, of different tongues, and doubtful as to their attach- 
ment to the government of the United States. No troops, arms, or ammu- 
nition, had yet descended from the states of Kentucky and Tennessee. 
His only reliance for defence, if suddenly assailed, was on the few regu- 
lars he had, the volunteers of General 003*60, and such troops as the state 
itself could furnish. Although continually agitated by gloomy forebodings, 
he breathed his fears to none. He appeared constantly serene, en- 
deavored to impress a general belief that the country could and would 
be successfully defended. This apparent tranquillity and avowed certainty 

• Eaton. 



294 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

of success in the general, excited strong hopes, dispelled everything like 
fear, and impressed all with additional confidence. 

While engaged in his operations on the Mobile, he had kept up a cor- 
respondence with Governor Claiborne, of Louisiana, urging him to the 
adoption of measures for the defence of the state. He had also forwarded 
an address to the people of Louisiana, endeavoring to excite them to a de- 
fence of their rights and liberties. Preparations for collecting troops in 
sufficient strength to repel an invasion, had been actively carried forward. 
The secretary of war had called upon the governors of Kentucky and 
Tennessee for quotas of the militia of those states, which requisitions were 
promptly answered by the governors, and the troops embarked for New 
Orleans, in November. 

While the troops from the upper country were expected. General Jack- 
son was active in adopting such measures as could be earliest effected, 
and which were best calculated for resistance and defence. The volunteer 
corps of the city, and other militia, were reviewed, the forts in the vicinity 
visited, to ascertain their situation and capacity for defence, and new works 
were erected on the banks of the Mississippi, below the city. Having 
endeavored, without success, to induce the legislature of Louisiana 
promptly to suspend the writ of habeas corptis, and sensible that delay 
was dangerous, he assumed the responsibility, and superseded their delibera- 
tions, by declaring the city and environs of New Orleans under martial law. 

The expected British force appeared off Pensacola, early in December, 
and on the 22d effected a landing of their troops, about fifteen miles south- 
east of New Orleans. The American gimboats on Lake Borgne, only five 
in number, were previously attacked by a force of forty-three British boats, 
and captured, after a gallant defence, on the 14th of December. 

With the exception of the Kentucky troops, 2,250 in number, all the 
forces expected had arrived previous to the 21st of December. The Ken- 
tucky troops arrived on the 4th of January. The Tennessee troops, un- 
der General Carroll, were about 2,500 in number. The remaining portion 
of the American forces consisted of Coffee's brigade of mounted men, the 
Mississippi dragoons, the Louisiana militia, two regiments of United States 
regular troops, and a company of marines and artillery. 

On the approach of the enemy being announced to General Jackson, on 
the 22d of December, he resolved to march, and that night give them bat- 
tle. He therefore advanced, at the head of about 2,000 men, and the fol- 
lowing day a battle took place with a detachment of about 2,500 of the 
British army, nine miles below New Orleans. The enemy's force was 
increased during the day to four or five thousand, with which the Ameri- 
cans maintained a severe conflict of more than an hour, and retired in 
safety from the ground ; with the loss of but 24 killed, 115 wounded, and 
74 made prisoners, while the British loss, in killed, wounded, and prison- 
ers, was about 400. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 295 

General Jackson now withdrew his troops to his intrenchments, four 
miles below the city. On the 28th of December, and the 1st of January, 
these were vigorously cannonaded by the enemy, but without success. 

On the morning of the 8th of January, General Pakenham, commander- 
in-chief of the British, advanced against the American intrenchments with 
the main body of his arm)', numbering more than twelve thousand men. 

Behind their breastworks of cotton bales, which no balls could pene- 
trate, six thousand Americans, mostly militia, but the best marksmen in 
the land, silently awaited the attack. When the advancing columns had 
approached within reach of the batteries, they were met by an incessant 
and destructive cannonade ; but, closing their ranks as fast as they were 
opened, they continued steadily to advance, until they came within reach 
of the American musketry and rifles. The extended American line now 
presented one vivid stream of fire, throwing the enemy into confusion, and 
covering the plain with the wounded and the dead.* 

In an attempt to rally his troops, General Pakenham was killed ; Gen- 
eral Gibbs, the second in command, was mortally wounded, and General 
Keene severely. The enemy now fled in Sismay from the certain death 
which seemed to await them. General Lambert, on whom the command 
devolved, being unable to check the flight of the troops, retired to his en- 
campment. On the 1 8th, the whole British army hastily withdrew, and 
retreated to their shipping. 

The heartfelt joy at the glorious victory achieved on one side of the 
river was clouded by the disaster witnessed on the other. A small body 
of the American forces was stationed on the right bank of the river. 
They were attacked by eight hundred chosen British troops, under Colo- 
nel Thornton, and compelled to retreat. 

The loss of the British in the main attack on the left bank has been 
variously stated. The killed, wounded, and prisoners, ascertained on the 
next day after the battle, by Colonel Hayne, the inspector-general, places 
it at 2,600 ; General Lambert's report to Lord Bathurst makes it 2,070. 
The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded was but thirteen.! 

On the 20th of January, 1815, General Jackson, with his army, returned 
to New Orleans. The general glow excited at beholding his entrance 
into the city, at the head of a victorious army, was manifested by all those 
feelings which patriotism and sympathy inspire. All greeted his return, 
and hailed him as their deliverer. The 23d was appointed a day of thanks- 
giving. Jackson repaired to the cathedral, which was crowded to excess. 
Children, robed in white, strewed his way with flowers, and an ode was 
recited as he passed. A Te Dcum was sung, and Bishop Dubourg deliv- 
ered an address, which he concluded by presenting the general with a 
wreath of laurel. 

Martial law still prevailed in New Orleans, and in February General 
• Wilson's United States. | Eaton. 



295 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

Jackson arrested Mr. Louallier, a member of the legislature, on a charge 
of exciting mutiny among his troops, by a publication, on the 10th of Feb- 
ruary, in the Louisiana Gazette, stating that a treaty of peace had been 
signed. Louallier applied to Judge Hall for a writ of habeas corpus, 
which was immediately granted. Instead of obeying the writ, the general 
arrested the judge, and sent him from the city on the 11th of February. 
On the 13th of the same month, an express reached headquarters, from the 
war department at Washington city, announcing the conclusion of peace 
between Great Britain and the United States, and directing a cessation of 
hostilities. The previous unofficial intelligence on the 10th had been re- 
ceived by Mr. Livingston, through Admiral Cochrane, of the British fleet. 

On being restored to the exercise of his functions. Judge Hall ordered 
General Jackson to appear before him, to show cause why an attachment 
for contempt should not be awarded, on the ground that he had refused to 
obey a writ issued to him, detained an original paper belonging to the 
court, and imprisoned the judge. The general obeyed the summons, and 
appeared in court in the garb of a citizen, to receive the sentence of the 
court, having previously made a written defence. The judge sentenced 
the general to pay a fine of one thousand dollars, which he paid. A sum 
■was soon raised by the people, to relieve him from the payment, but he de- 
clined to receive it. The amount, with interest, was subsequently refunded 
to Jackson, by act of Congress, in 1844. 

The war being ended, and the militia having been discharged, and re- 
turned to their homes. General Jackson left New Orleans for Nashville, 
where he arrived in May, 1815, and was received by his fellow-citizens 
with the most cordial feelings. An address was delivered at the court- 
house, in behalf of the citizens, welcoming his return. He then retired 
to his family residence, to repair a broken constitution, and to enjoy that 
repose to which, for eighteen months, he had been a stranger. 

The annunciation of the triumphant defence of New Orleans was, in 
every section of the United States, hailed with acclamation. The legis- 
latures of many of the states voted to him their approbation and thanks, for 
what he had done. The Congress of the United Slates did the same, 
and directed a gold medal to be presented to him, commemorative of the 
event. 

The president, on the resignation of General Thomas Pinckney, in 1815, 
appointed General Jackson commander-in-chief of the southern division 
of the United States. Toward the close of the autumn of 1815, he visited 
Washington city, and on his way met with continued demonstrations of re- 
spect from the people. At this period. Colonel Burr wrote from New York, 
to his son-in-law, Ex-Governor Alston, of South Carolina, dated Novem- 
ber 20, 1815, recommending the adoption of measures to bring forward the 
nomination of General Jackson, as a candidate for president of the United 
States, previous to the nomination of James Monroe by a congressional 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 297 

caucus, which was then anticipated to take place in December following. 
" Nothing is wanting," says Burr, " but a respectable nomination before 
the proclamation of the Virginia caucus, and Jackson's success is inevita- 
ble. Jackson is on his way to Washington. If you should have any con- 
fidential friend among the members of Congress from your state, charge 
him to caution Jackson against the perfidious caresses with which he will 
be overwhelmed at Washington." On the 11th of December, Colonel 
Burr wrote to Governor Alston, saying, that, since the date of his last, 
" things are wonderfully advanced. These will require a letter from your- 
self and others, advising Jackson what is doing — that communications have 
been had with the northern states, requiring him only to be passive, and 
asking from him a list of persons to whom you may address your letters." 
To this letter Governor Alston replied, on the 16th February, 1816, in- 
forming Colonel Burr, that his letter was received in January, " too late, 
of course, had circumstances been ever so favorable, to be acted upon in 
the manner proposed. I fully coincide with you in sentiment ; but the 
spirit, the energy, the health, necessary to give practical effect to senti- 
ment, are all gone. I feel too much alone, too entirely unconnected with 
the world, to take much interest in anything."* 

It appears, from this correspondence, that accidental circumstances 
alone, prevented the public nomination of General Jackson by his native 
state, as a candidate for president, at a very early period after the war 
with Great Britain, and caused the bringing forward of his name to be de- 
ferred until the last term of Mr. Monroe's administration, viz., in 1822, 
In the spring of 1816, General Jackson again visited New Orleans. After 
stationing the army in the southern section of his division, he concluded a 
treaty with the Indians, the object of which was to obtain from them the 
relinquishment of all the claim they pretended to have to lands within the 
limits of the United States, and which had been previously ceded- by them. 
In the year 1818, the services of General Jackson, in his military ca- 
pacity, were again called into requisition. The Seminole Indians, of 
Florida, had shown their hostility to the United States, by committing 
depredations on the southern frontiers. General Gaines had been ordered 
by the president, in October, 1817, to take the necessary measures for the 
defence of the inhabitants of that section of the Union. He accordingly 
built three forts, and proceeded to expel the Indians, who resisted him, as 
far as was in their power, and committed various outrages. At the mouth 
of Flint river, the Indians fell in with a party of forty men, under Lieuten- 
ant Scott, all of whom they killed but six, who escaped by swimming. 

When the news of this massacre reached General Jackson, he raised 

an army of two thousand five hundred volunteers, and mustered them as 

in the service of the United States. After a rapid march, he arrived with 

his army, on the 1st of April, at the Mickasucky villages, which were de- 

• Davis's Life of Burr. 



298 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

serted on his approacli. Having burnt the villages, he marched to St. 
Marks, then a Spanish post on the Appalachee bay, in Florida. 

Two persons, who were traders with the Indians, namely, Arbuthnot, a 
Scotchman, and Ambrister, a British lieutenant of marines, were taken 
prisoners by Jackson, near St. Marks, and confined. They were both ac- 
cused of exciting the Indians to hostility against the United States, and 
supplying them with arms and ammunition. They were tried by a court- 
martial, consisting of officers of the miUtia, and found guilty. One of them 
was sentenced to be shot, and the other to be hung, and their execution took 
place by order of General Jackson. 

About the middle of May, General Jackson arrived at the Escambia, 
near Pensacola, having been informed that a body of hostile Indians had 
been harbored at that place. He took possession of Pensacola and Fort 
Barancas, notwithstanding a remonstrance from the governor of the terri- 
tory. Two Indian chiefs, who were captured, were hung, by order of 
General Jackson, under circumstances which he deemed justifiable, but 
for which he was censured by many. 

On the 2d June, 1818, General Jackson addressed a letter to the secre- 
tary of war, at the close of which he says : " The Seminole war may now 
be considered as at a close ; tranquillity is again restored to the southern 
frontier of the United States, and, as long as a cordon of military posts is 
maintained along the gulf of Mexico, America has nothing to apprehend 
from either foreign or Indian hostilities. The immutable principles of self- 
defence justified the occupancy of the Floridas, and the same principles 
will warrant the American government in holding it, until such time as 
Spain can guaranty, by an adequate military force, the maintaining of her 
authority within the colony." 

After the campaign in Florida, General Jackson returned to Nashville, 
and shortly afterward he resigned his commission in the army. During 
the session of Congress, in January, 1819, he visited Washington, when 
his transactions in the Seminole war became the subject of investigation 
by Congress. After a long and exching debate on the subject, resolutions 
of censure, for his proceedings in Florida, were rejected in the house of 
representatives, by a large majority, and his course was sustained by the 
president and a majority of the cabinet, although the Spanish posts in 
Florida were restored. 

When the congressional investigation had terminated favorably to Gen- 
eral Jackson, he visited the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New- 
York, and various other parts of the United States, being received with 
enthusiasm by his friends in all quarters, and with distinguished attention 
by the public authorities and others. 

In June, 1821, the president appointed him governor of Florida, which 
office he accepted, and in August he took possession of the territory, accord- 
ing to the treaty of cession. The Spanish governor, Callava, having re- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 299 

fused to give up certain public documents, deemed of importance, lie was 
taken into custody, by order of Governor Jackson, and committed to prison. 
The papers being found, under a search-warrant issued by Jackson, Callava 
was immediately set at liberty. Jackson remained but a few months in 
Florida ; for, disliking the situation, and disapproving of the extent of pow- 
ers vested in him as governor, he resigned the office and again retired to 
Tennessee. President Monroe offered him the appointment of minister 
to Mexico, which he declined in 1823. 

In July, 1822, General Jackson was nominated by the legislature of 
Tennessee as a candidate for president of the United States. This nom- 
ination was repeated by assemblages of the people in several other states. 
In the autumn of 1823, he was elected by the legislature a senator from 
Tennessee, and took his seat in the senate of the United States in De- 
cember, 1823. He voted for the protective tariff of 1824. 

The popularity of General Jackson with the people of the United States, 
was shown at the presidential election of 1824, when he received a greater 
number of electoral votes than either of his competitors, namely, ninety- 
nine. Mr. Adams received eighty-four, Mr. Crawford forty-one, and Mr. 
Clay thirty-seven. The election consequently devolved on the house of 
representatives, where, by the constitutional provision, the decision is 
made by states. Mr. Adams was elected by that body, receiving the 
votes of thirteen states ; General Jackson seven states ; and Mr. Craw- 
ford four states. The result caused much dissatisfaction among the 
friends of General Jackson, but a large proportion of those who had sup- 
ported Mr. Crawford, as well as most of those who had supported Mr. 
Clay, preferred Mr. Adams to General Jackson. 

During General La Fayette's visit to the United States in 1824-5, he 
passed through Tennessee, and was received by General Jackson, at the 
Hermitage, with his accustomed hospitality. 

After the election of Mr. Adams to the presidency, the opposition to his 
administration was soon concentrated upon General Jackson as a candi- 
date to succeed him. If October, 1825, he was again nominated by the 
legislature of Tennessee for president, on which occasion he resigned his 
seat in the senate of the United States, in a speech delivered to the legis- 
lature, giving his views on public affairs. During the exciting canvass 
which resulted in his election to the presidency in 1828, by a majority of 
more than two to one, of the electoral votes, over Mr. Adams, he remained 
in private life. 

In January, 1828, he was present, by invitation, at New Orleans, at the 
celebration of the anniversary of his victory. Before departing for Wash- 
ington, in 1829, to take the reins of government, he met with a severe 
affliction in the death of Mrs. Jackson. This loss bore heavily upon him 
for some time, and he came into power with gloomy feelings. He reached 
the national capital early in February, in a plain carriage. 



300* BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JACKSON. 

• 

The events of his administration we have given in another place, and 
to those pages the reader is referred for the history of eight years of his 
life. In 1832 he was re-elected to the presidency; and at the close of 
his second term, in March, 1837, having published a farewell address to 
the people of the United States, he retired to his favorite residence, at 
the Hermitage, in Tennessee, where he passed the remnant of his days, 
generally a quiet, but not disinterested spectator of public events. He 
was a member of the presbyterian church, and religious faith and confi- 
dence appear to have soothed and cheered all the latter period of his life. 
For the last year or two of his life he was infirm of body, but retained his 
mental faculties undiminished up to the hour of his decease, which took 
place on the 8th of June, 1845. His countrymen throughout the United 
States joined in testimonials of respect to his memory. He left no blood 
relatives, and his estate was bequeathed to members of the Donelson fam- 
ily, who were the relations of Mrs. Jackson. 

The violence of political strife will long confuse men's judgment of the 
character and abilities of General Jackson ; but all will accord to him the 
praise of great firmness, energy, decision, and disinterestedness ; of re- 
markable military skill, and ardent patriotism. With regard to his qualifi- 
cations and services as a statesman, his countrymen have been and are 
divided in opinion. It is, perhaps, not yet time to speak decisively on 
this point, but it must be left for the impartial verdict of posterity. 

The personal appearance and private character of General Jackson are 
thus described by his friend and biographer, Mr. Eaton, previous to his 
election to the presidency : " In the person of General Jackson is per- 
ceived nothing of the robust and elegant. He is six feet and an inch 
high, remarkably straight ^nd spare, and weighs not more than one hun- 
dred and forty-five pounds. His conformation appears to disqualify him 
for hardship ; yet, accustomed to it from early life, few are capable of 
enduring fatigue to the same extent, or with less injury. His dark blue 
eyes, with brows arched and slightly projecting, possess a marked ex- 
pression ; but when from any cause excited, they sparkle with peculiar 
lustre and penetration. In his manners he is pleasing — in his address 
commanding ; while his countenance, marked with firmness and decision, 
beams with a strength and intelligence that strikes at first sight. In his 
deportment there is nothing repulsive. Easy, affable, and familiar, he is 
open and accessible to all. Influenced by the belief that merit should 
constitute the only difference in men, his attention is equally bestowed on 
honest poverty as on titled consequence. His moral character is without 
reproach ; and by those who know him most intimately he is most esteemed. 
Benevolence in him is a prominent virtue. He was never known to pass 
distress without seeking to assist and to relieve it." 



ADMINISTRATOxN OF JACKSON. 



On the fourth of March, 1829, General Andrew Jackson entered on his 
duties as president of the United States. At twelve o'clock of that day, 
the senate, which had been convened by his predecessor, Mr. Adams, ad- 
journed, after a session of one hour, during which the president elect en- 
tered the senate-chamber, attended by the marshal of the district and the 
committee of arrangements. He had been escorted to the capitol, from 
Gadsby's hotel, by a few of the surviving officers and soldiers of the revo- 
lution, and made the following reply to an address delivered to him at the 
hotel : — 

" Respected Friends : Your affectionate address awakens sentiments 
and recollections which I feel with sincerity, and cherish with pride. To 
have around my person, at the moment of undertaking the most solenm of 
all duties to my country, the companions of the immortal Washington, will 
afford me satisfaction and grateful encouragement. That by my best ex- 
ertions I shall be able to exhibit more than an imitation of his labors, a 
sense of my own imperfections, and the reverence I entertain for his vir- 
tues, forbid me to hope. 

" To you, respected friends, the survivors of that heroic band who fol- 
lowed him so long and so valiantly in the path of glory, I offer my sincere 
thanks, and to Heaven my prayers, that your remaining years may be as 
happy as your toils and your lives have been illustrious." 

The chief-justice of the United States, and associate judges of the su- 
preme court, entered the senate-chamber soon after the president, and oc- 
cupied the seats assigned for them, on the right of the president's chair. 
The foreign ministers and their suites, in their splendid official costumes, 
occupied seats on the left of the president's chair. A large number of 
ladies were present. The western gallery was reserved for members of 
the house of representatives. 

After the adjournment of the senate, about noon, a procession was 
formed to the eastern portico of the capitol, where, in the presence of an 
immense concourse of spectators, the president delivered his inaugural 
address ; and having concluded it, the oath to support the constitution was 
administered to him by Chief- Justice Marshall. 



302 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

Salutes were fired by two companies of artillery, stationed in the vi- 
cinity of the capitol, which were repeated at the forts, and by detach- 
ments of artillery on the plains. When the president retired, the proces- 
sion was re-formed, and he was conducted to the presidential mansion. 
He here received the salutations of a vast number of persons, who came 
to congratulate him upon his induction to the presidency. The day was 
serene and mild, and every way favorable to the wishes of those who 
had come from a distance to witness the ceremony of the inauguration. 

General Jackson did not call upon President Adams, and the ex-presi- 
dent was not present at the installation of President Jackson.* 

The members of Mr. Adams's cabinet having resigned. President 
Jackson, immediately after his inauguration, nominated to the senate the 
following gentlemen for heads of the respective departments, who were 
promptly confirmed, viz. : Martin Van Buren, of New York, secretary of 
state ; Samuel D. Ingham, of Pennsylvania, secretary of the treasury ; 
John H. Eaton, of Tennessee, secretary of war ; John Branch, of North 
Carolina, secretary of the navy ; John M'Pherson Berrien, of Georgia, 
attorney-general. It was determined to introduce the postmaster-general 
into the cabinet; the incumbent of that oflice, JohnM'Lean, was appointed 
associate justice of the supreme court, and William T. Barry, of Ken- 
tucky, received the appointment of postmaster-general. Certain duties in 
the department of state requiring immediate attention on the accession of 
a new president, James A. Hamilton, of New York, son of the late Gen- 
eral Alexander Hamilton, was charged temporarily with the duties of 
secretary of state ; until Mr. Van Buren could close his business as gov- 
ernor of New York, on the duties of which office he had only entered on 
the 1st of January, 1829. 

The secretaries of state and the navy, and the attorney-general, had 
been leading supporters of Mr. Crawford, in the presidential contest of 
1824. Mr. Ingham was selected through the influence of the vice-presi- 
dent, Mr. Calhoun, and Messrs. Eaton and Barry were among the original 
supporters of General Jackson. 

The cabinet was now constituted, and, after confirming the nomination 
of some active partisans to diplomatic posts and to lucrative stations in 
the land office, customhouse, and navy, the senate adjourned on the 17th 
of March, the executive having informed that body that he had no further 
business to lay before it. The promised work of reform novr commenced 
in good earnest. Before the inauguration, the capital had been thronged 
with political partisans, chiefly from the eastern, middle, and western 
states, all clamorous for some reward for their electioneering services du- 
ring the canvass. It had been distinctly avowed by the most prominent 
organs of the successful party, that the president would be urged to re- 
ward his friends and punish his enemies ; it was expected, therefore, that 

• Niles's Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 303 

he would make a prompt and general removal of his opponents from office, 
and, by the appointment of his friends, secure the ascendency of his party. 
This expectation was not destined to disappointment. Scarcely had the 
senate adjourned, when a general system pf removal from office was en- 
tered upon, with the view of rewarding those who had been instrumental 
in promoting the president's election. 

Never before had so total a change been made in the public offices. 
Formerly it had been confined to those prominent places which constitute 
the stakes for which the game of politics is so often played. The revolu- 
tion extended further now, and men too humble to be claimed by any party 
were removed from situations upon which they depended for a livelihood, 
to make room for active partisans. Availing himself of the right of the 
executive to fill vacancies occurring in the recess, the president, shortly 
after the adjournment of the senate, removed the principal officers of the 
treasury, the marshals and district attorneys in most of the eastern, mid- 
dle, and western states, the revenue-officers of the chief Atlantic ports, the 
greater part of the receivers and nregisters in the land-office ; and effected 
an equally radical change in the diplomatic corps. 

The number of appointments made by the president during the recess 
was one hundred and seventy-six, principally in consequence of removals 
of political opponents from office. During General Washington's admin- 
istration there were nine removals ; of these one was a defaulter. In 
John Adams's administration of four years there were ten removals ; one 
of these was a defaulter. In Jefferson's, of eight years, there were thirty' 
nine. In James Madison's, of eight years, there were jive removals, of 
which three were defaulters. In James Monroe's, of eight years, there were 
nine removals, of which six were for cause. In John Quincy Adams's, of 
four years, there were two removals ; both for cause. Total removals by 
six presidents, seventy-four. 

As these removals by President Jackson were invariably made to make 
room for political adherents, and as with some exceptions no act of official 
delinquency was proved against the former incumbents, the conduct of 
the executive was subjected to severe animadversions. He was charged 
with usurping an authority not conferred by the constitution, which it was 
contended only gave him the right to fill vacancies, either occasionally oc- 
curring, or caused by some official misconduct ; and even if acting within 
the limits of his constitutional prerogative, it was a proscription for 
opinion's sake, contrary to the spirit of our institutions, and without a pre- 
cedent in the history of the country. On the other hand, it was contended 
that the executive was solely invested with the right of removal ; that it 
was a discretionary right, for the exercise of which he was responsible 
solely to the nation ; that that power was given to enable him not only to 
remove incumbents, for delinquency or incapacity, but with the view of 
reforming the administration of the government, and introducing officers 



304 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

of greater efficiency or sounder principles into its various departments. 
Occasion was also taken, owing to the defalcation of a few of those re- 
moved, to assert the necessity of reform, and unsparing efforts were made 
to create an impression on the public mind of the necessity of a general 
removal of the officers of the federal government. 

Some abuses no doubt existed, and one instance of fraud 9.nd defalca- 
tion on the part of an auditor high in the confidence of the late adminis- 
tration, gave a temporary popularity to this policy ; but when it was dis- 
covered, after a vigorous scrutiny, that defalcations to the amount of a few 
thousand dollars only were detected, and that in no instance were these 
fastened upon officers appointed by Mr. Adams, a reaction took place in 
the public feeling. 

The manner of distributing the executive patronage was also strongly 
contrasted with the professions of General Jackson shortly before the elec- 
tion. He had then earnestly inculcated the propriety of a chief magis- 
trate acting for the good of the whole and not a part of the community, 
and devoting himself to exterminate party spirit ; and among the most rep- 
rehensible modes of bestowing appointments, he had designated that of 
conferring oflices on members of Congress. He regarded this as aiming 
so directly at the independence and purity of the legislature, that he pro- 
posed an amendment of the constitution, prohibiting the appointment of 
members of Congress to any ofiice, except judicial, during the term for 
which they were elected and two years thereafter. It was therefore 
cause of general surprise to find him within the first year of his ad- 
ministration conferring a greater number of offices upon members of Con- 
gress than any of his predecessors had done, during their whole term of 
service.* 

A general change took place in the postoffice department. Under the 
superintendence of Mr. M'Lean, this department had been distinguished 
for its efficiency and order, and as its functions operated directly upon the 
private business of individuals, that officer had acquired great and de- 
served popularity from the manner in which its duties were discharged. 
He had himself been favorable to the election of General Jackson, and his 
continuance in an office of so much influence and patronage had been 
deemed an instance of magnanimity on the part of Mr. Adams, and a proof 
of his determination not to use the patronage of the government for party 
purposes. 

The transfer of that officer to the bench of the supreme court, and the 
introduction of his successor, Mr. Barry, into the cabinet, were regarded 
as indications of an intention to introduce the proscriptive system into the 
postoffice, and the numerous removals which took place shortly after his 
appointment verified the apprehensions of the community. By the report 
of the postmaster-general, in answer to a resolution of the senate, it ap- 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 305 

peared that he had removed between the 4th of March, 1829, and the 22(1 
of March, 1830, four hundred and ninety-one postmasters.* 

At the commencement of General Jackson's administration there was a 
disposition generally evinced among his opponents to give his measures a 
fair trial. Some uncertainty existed as to the policy which the new presi- 
dent might feel bound to adopt. The inferences which the public had 
drawn as to his principles from his votes when in the senate of the United 
States, had been rendered somewhat uncertain by the contradictory asser- 
tions made by his supporters in different sections of the Union, and by the 
decided political character of that portion of his adherents who had been 
ranked in the previous contest, of 1824, among the friends of the late sec- 
retary of the treasury, Mr. Crawford. That class of public men was re- 
garded as contending for a strict construction of the federal constitution, 
and their support was given to Mr. Crawford upon principles of opposition 
to the policy that governed the administration of Mr. Monroe. All the 
other candidates in that contest were sustained upon a contrary principle. 
The construction given to the federal constitution by which Congress was 
deemed to be empowered to protect domestic manufactures, to appropriate 
moneys for works of internal improvement, to create a United States bank, 
and generally to regulate and control all affairs strictly national, had be- 
come the settled policy of the country. Strong objections were still urged 
to this construction by the representatives from the southern states, and by 
some of the leading friends of Mr. Crawford in other sections of the Union. 
But it had been too long and too generally acquiesced in, to permit the 
liope of a successful appeal to public opinion in behalf of candidates of- 
fered upon principles of opposition to that construction. All the candidates 
for president in 1824 consequently were understood to be in favor of that 
construction. 

General Jackson had not occupied so conspicuous a station in political 
life as either of the other candidates ; but while in the United States sen- 
ate, he had been no less decided in his opinions on the long-disputed 
question as to the constructive powers of Congress. During his short 
term of service in that body, he had voted in the affirmative on eight dif- 
ferent bills providing for internal improvement by the general govern- 
ment ; and his vote in favor of the tariff of 1824 — a tariff which was found- 
ed on the principle of protection — afforded sufficient evidence that his 
opinions accorded rather with those of Mr. Adams, Mr. Clay, and Mr. 
Calhoun, than with those of the supporters of Mr. Crawford. f 

It may be remarked that Mr. Crawford himself, when a member of the 
United States senate in 1810, advocated the recharter of the first bank of 
the United States ; and, while subsequently a member of the cabinet, was 
understood to be in favor of internal improvements by the general govern- 
ment, and a protective tariff. Mr. Calhoun had supported in Congress 

• American Annual Register. t ^^^^' 

20 



306 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

the protective features of the tariff, and the incorporation of a national 
bank, in 1816 ; and had efficiently contributed, when in Congress, and 
also while in the cabinet, to the adoption of a national system of internal 
improvements. 

The determination of the respective friends of Jackson, Crawford, and 
Calhoun, to combine in support of the general at the election of 1828, in- 
duced much speculation as to the political course which would be pursued 
by his administration in the event of success ; and it was predicted that a 
party so constituted could not continue united after the government should 
fall into its hands, without a complete sacrifice of principle by one of the 
sections of the combination. 

The president would, of course, be compelled to adopt the literal con- 
struction of the constitution, as held in Virginia and other southern states, 
or to pursue the policy marked out by his predecessors. During the 
pendency of the election, the public might be left in doubt. Such as were 
inclined to promote his elevation in the north and west, could justify their 
preference by appealing to his votes, when in the senate, in favor of the 
tariff and internal improvement, while his supporters in the south could 
be equally zealous, either relying upon a more intimate acquaintance with 
his opinions, or upon those measures which his character as a candidate 
sustained upon the principle of reform, should compel him to adopt in 
case of success. But after his inauguration, he must decide between 
these conflicting pretensions, and this would compel those to whom that 
decision should prove unpalatable, to decide in their turn between the 
abandonment of their political party or their principles. This very posi- 
tion, properly viewed, was but another of the fortunate circumstances in 
which the successful competitor for the chief magistracy found himself placed 
at the time of his elevation. Chosen by an overwhelming majority of the 
electoral votes, he owed his success to his own popularity. Generally 
sanctioning the policy under which our national institutions had been built 
up, he was at liberty to review his opinions, and to establish them upon in- 
controvertible and immutable grounds. His administration was not bound 
to persist in any particular measures which experience had proved to be 
inexpedient ; but claiming, as it did, to be constituted upon the basis of 
reform, it was able to modify the existing policy, and to carry out its prin- 
ciples under all the advantages offered by the light of experience and the 
development of public opinion. Equally uncommitted was he respecting 
the parties which had formerly distracted the country. His advice to Mr. 
Monroe, in 1816, to discard all party feelings, and to remember that, as 
chief magistrate, he acted for the whole and not a part of the community — 
sentiments which did equal honor to his head and his heart, and which he 
reiterated as his settled opinion in 1824 — left him free to call to his coun- 
cils the ablest and most virtuous men of the nation, without regard to the 
party denominations by which they had been previously distinguished. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON 307 

Under these fortunate circumstances, General Jackson had assumed the 
executive government, with a surplus of more than five millions of dollars 
in the national treasury, the country respected abroad, at peace with all 
the world, and in a state of unexampled and progressive domestic pros- 
perity.* 

Such was the state of affairs when the twenty-first Congress assem- 
bled on the 7th of December, 1829 ; and this first session continued until 
the 31st of May, 1830, The majority in each branch in favor of the new- 
administration was decided. The vice-president being absent at the com- 
mencement of the session, Samuel Smith, of Maryland, resumed the chair, 
as president pro tempore of the senate. In the house of representatives, 
Andrew Stevenson was re-elected speaker by 152 votes against 39. 

The message of the president in point of expression was considered 
equal to those of his predecessors, and gave an elaborate view of the for- 
eign relations and domestic concerns of the United States. Many of its 
recommendations were considered at this session of Congress, but in sev- 
eral instances the president's views met with an unfavorable reception 
from his friends in both houses. On the subject of a renewal of the char- 
ter of the bank of the United States, the standing committees of the senate 
and the house, to whom it was referred, made reports diametrically oppo- 
site to the recommendation of the president. The friends of the adminis- 
tration formed a majority in both committees, and the marked difi'erence in 
the opinions entertained by them from that expressed in the president's 
message, afforded a striking proof of the want of harmony between the 
president and cabinet, and the party which had brought them into power. 
Committees on retrenchment and reform made reports on those subjects, 
but found little favor in either house, and nothing effectual was done on 
the subject. The amendments to the constitution recommended by the 
president were deemed equally unimportant, and were treated with like 
neglect. On the subject of a revision of the tariff, the recommendation of 
the president met with more favor. Although somewhat ambiguously ex- 
pressed, the views of the president, as set forth in his message, were un- 
derstood as hostile to the protective policy. With a view of effecting a 
modification of the revenue system, several bills were introduced to repeal 
or diminish the duties on various articles of general consumption. 

The tariff of 1828 became a law during the excitement of the presiden- 
tial election, and in adjusting its details, more regard had been paid to the 
political effect of the law, than to the permanent interests of the country, 
or to the rules of political economy. Hostility to the tariff had been mani- 
fested early in the session of 1829-30, by many of the friends of the 
administration ; but an equally strong feeling of dissatisfaction with the 
existing law, on the ground of its inadequate protection to the woollen 
manufactures, had induced the friends of the policy to bring forward 
• American Annual Register. 



308 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

the subject, with the view of obtaining a modification of the law more fa- 
vorable to their interests, and to prevent the frauds which were alleged to 
be daily practised on the revenue. 

A bill was accordingly reported in the house of representatives, by Mr. 
Mallary, chairman of the committee on manufactures, on the 27th of Jan- 
uary, 1830, to regulate the entry of importations of woollens. After 
much debate in both houses, it was passed, and being sanctioned by the 
president, became a law in May following. 

Several unsuccessful attempts were made to engraft upon the above- 
mentioned bill amendments reducing the duties on various articles. It 
was finally concluded to attack the tariff" in detail, and separate bills were 
introduced, providing for a reduction of duties on salt and molasses ; both 
of which were passed, by considerable majorities. Another bill was 
passed, reducing the duties on tea and coflfee. 

The following laws, in addition to the foregoing, were the most impor- 
tant which were passed during this session : For the reappropriation of 
thirty thousand dollars for the suppression of the slave-trade, which had 
been appropriated two years before, but was not expended, and which was 
founded on an act of Congress of 1819 ; for repealing an act imposing ton- 
nage duties on vessels of which the officers and two thirds of the seamen 
were citizens of the United States ; for the more effectual collection of 
impost duties, appointing eight additional appraisers to examine goods im- 
ported, but no new regulations to prevent defaults in the officers of the 
customs ; for the appointment of an additional officer to be attached to the 
treasury department, called the solicitor of the treasury ; for allowing a 
drawback on spirits exported, distilled from molasses, which the existing 
laws did not permit ; for allowing a portion of the claims of Massachu- 
setts, for services and expenses of the militia in 1812-'14, in time 
of war, and for which that state had not been reimbursed, the amount 
allowed being four hundred and thirty thousand dollars, about half the sum 
claimed ; for the removal of the Indians from lands occupied by them 
within any state of the Union, to a territory west of the Mississippi, and 
without the limits of any state or organized territory, and belonging to the 
United States, by purchase or relinquishment of the Indians, by treaty ; 
to divide such territory into districts, for the reception and permanent set- 
tlement of those who should consent to emigrate from their residence on 
the east of that river, they relinquishing all claims to lands they then oc- 
cupied ; the tribes to have the solemn assurance of government that it will 
Jor ever secure and guaranty to them and their posterity, the tract of 
country so exchanged with them for the lands they should quit in Geor- 
gia, Alabama, and any other states ; and should they abandon the territory 
at a future time, the same to revert to the United States ; the Indians to 
have the amount of their improvements made on the lands they may 
leave ; to be aided in their removal, and supported for one year by the 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 309 

federal government ; to be protected against assaults from other tribes in 
the vicinity of their new residence ; and five hundred thousand dollars 
were granted for carrying the act into effect.* 

A highly-interesting debate took place in the senate during this ses- 
sion, on a resolution offered on the 29th of December, 1829, by Mr. Foot, 
of Connecticut, on the subject of the public lands. The resolution pro- 
posed an inquiry into the expediency of limiting, for a certain period, the 
sales of the public lands to such lands only as had been offered for sale, 
and were subject to entry at the minimum price, and to abolish the oilice 
of surveyor-general. The subject was of great interest to all the mem- 
bers of the senate, and gave rise to an extended debate, in which Mr. 
Hayne, of South Carolina, Mr. Webster, of Massachusetts, and Mr. Ben- 
ton, of Missouri, were most conspicuous. 

The discussion took a wide range, and the speakers wandered from the 
subject of the public lands to discuss almost every topic of general inter- 
est connected with the politics of the day. The senator from South Car- 
olina took this occasion, not only to reproach the eastern states with a de- 
sign to prevent the settlement of the west, from sectional or political views, 
but to plead for the doctrine of state-rights and power to an extent con- 
sidered by some as novel and alarming. 

Mr. Hayne contended that his views of the principles of the constitutioa 
were sustained by the resolutions of the Virginia legislature, adopted in 
1798, and which were drawn up by Mr. Madison, who was one of the 
principal framers of the constitution. Mr. Webster replied to Mr. Hayne, 
in one of the most powerful and effective speeches ever deUvered in Con- 
gress. His argument on the powers of the federal government granted 
by the constitution, as being paramount in certain cases to the authority 
of the states, was admitted by a large portion of the people of the United 
States to be sound and entirely unanswerable. He contended, that on 
subjects fully committed to the general government by the constitution, its 
powers were exclusive and unlimited ; that no one state, nor even a num- 
ber of states, might justly interfere with its measures ; and that the pub- 
lic lands, not particularly and expressly ceded to a state, were solely at 
the disposal and under the jurisdiction of the United States government. 
He said he was not averse to the policy of retaining a large part of the 
lands for a future revenue, and yet was in favor of selling small tracts to 
actual settlers, and thus gradually to fill up the vacant territory with in- 
habitants. 

The effect of this speech throughout the Union was destructive to the 
hopes of the advocates of riullification. They had been gradually gaining 
strength, owing in a great measure to the inattention of the public to the 
pernicious consequences of their doctrines. In Georgia they formed a 
majority, had carried their principles into practical effect, and their doc- 

• Bradford. 



310 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

trines had received the implied sanction of the president in reference to 
the Indian question. In South Carolina and Virginia they constituted a 
majority of the legislatures ; and in New York an obvious leaning toward 
the same principles was manifested by the dominant party under a pro- 
fessed attachment to state-rights. 

Public opinion, however, was now fully awakened. The language of 
the senator from Massachusetts met with a ready response from a large 
proportion of the American people, who felt the Union to be in danger 
from the doctrine of nullification, and both parties evinced their attach- 
ment to the constitution by the warmest approbation of the sentiments 
advanced by Mr. Webster.* 

Although the unequivocal testimonies of popular feeling checked the 
tendency on the part of many leading politicians to nullification, and the 
doctrines of Mr. Webster's speech were in substance sustained subse- 
quently by President Jackson in his proclamation respecting the difficul- 
ties in South Carolina, in 1832 ; yet the views of Mr. Hayne respecting 
state-rights and the powers of the general government continued to be en- 
tertained and asserted by a large and respectable portion of the people of 
the southern states. 

Besides those of Mr. Hayne and Mr. Webster, many of the other speech- 
es in the senate during the great debate referred to, were distinguished for 
eloquence, ingenuity, and power. No particular law resulted from this 
protracted and able discussion. 

A warm opposition was instituted in the senate to the whole course of 
the executive in relation to removals from office : first, on the ground of 
their unconstitutionality ; and, second, on that of inexpediency. The op- 
position failed on both points ; and on the first it can hardly be doubted 
that it was unsound in principle. The expediency of the reform itself was a 
subject of greater difi'erence of opinion. The consequence was, that the 
senate rejected many of the appointments made during the recess, and in 
some instances the vote rejecting them was so large as to convey a strong 
censure upon the selections of the president. 

There were early indications of a want of harmony among the diflTerent 
sections of which the administration party was composed. Efforts had 
been made from the commencement of the presidential term of General 
Jackson, by the respective partisans of the vice-president and of the sec- 
retary of state,%o direct the executive patronage to the aggrandizement of 
their own friends. A division of the party was early seen to be inevitable, 
but the personal predilections of the president were as yet unknown. In 
the formation of the cabinet, the first post had been given to Mr. Van Bu- 
ren himself, but the extensive influence of the treasury department was 
placed under the control of Mr. Ingham, a devoted friend of the vice- 
president. The other members of the cabinet were not selected with 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 311 

reference to the views of either of the competitors for the succession to 
the presidency, but upon grounds of personal preference on the part of the 
president. The views of the secretary of state and of the secretary of the 
navy had not harmonized with those of the secretaries of war and of the 
treasury. The attorney general had belonged to the old federal party, and 
the postmaster-general had not shown that his political principles neces- 
sarily inclined him to a narrow construction of the powers of the federal 
government. Upon the whole, however, the cabinet was formed with an 
apparent preference of the political creed professed by the friends of the 
vice-president, rather than that of the radical party. The star of the vice- 
president was deemed to be in the ascendant, and it was generally believed 
that the influence of the executive would be exerted to promote his eleva- 
tion to the presidential chair upon his own retirement. These opinions, 
however, were not realized. 

While the patronage of the executive was so directed publicly to 
strengthen Mr. Calhoun's political party, by placing many of his friends 
in important posts, the ground on which he stood was crumbling beneath 
him, and measures were in train to create a breach between him and the 
president. To him, as a more early and efficient supporter, the president 
had given a greater share of confidence, and manifested a warmer feeling, 
than he had originally bestowed upon the secretary of state. In this par- 
ticular the secretary labored under a disadvantage ; but circumstances soon 
enabled him to obtain a great superiority of influence over the mind of the 
president. 

The secretary of war had been brought into the cabinet on account of 
the confidential relations and intimate friendship subsisting between him 
and the president, and of course was entitled to and received his entire 
confidence. Upoi^ the arrival of the secretary of state at Washington, he 
found a coolness existing between the secretary of war and the vice-presi- 
dent, and a division in the cabinet itself, in consequence of some disagree- 
ment in their private relations. As the president warmly sympathized in 
the feelings and resentment of the secretary of war on this point, the sec- 
retaries of the treasury and navy, as the objects of that resentment, gradu- 
ally lost his confidence, which was transferred to the secretary of state, 
whose course both in public and private had so completely harmonized with 
the wishes of himself and his friends.* 

The loss of influence on the part of the secretary of the treasury had 
impaired the indirect power of Mr. Calhoun, and the same cause had in- 
jured his own standing with the executive. No open breach had, how- 
ever, as yet taken place between them, and the vice-president and his 
friends in Congress continued to support the administration, some of whose 
appointments were carried by the casting vote of the vice-president, as 
president of the senate. 

• American Annual Register. 



312 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. ' 

Affairs remained on this uncertain footing until nearly the close of the 
first session of the twenty-first Congress. At that time, and after the 
greater part of the questionable nominations had been confirmed, a move- 
ment was made which ripened the misunderstanding between the presi- 
dent and the vice-president into a complete alienation of feeling, and pre- 
pared the way for an open rupture. Before this event occurred, the influ- 
ence of the controversy above alluded to had eff'ected a change in the po- 
litical relations of some of the members of the cabinet ; and upon that 
question the president, the secretaries of state and of war, and the post- 
master-general, were opposed to the secretaries of the treasury and navy, 
and the attorney general ; and the division was understood to have no in- 
considerable bearing upon other questions of greater importance. 

This misunderstanding continued to increase, until finally an open rup- 
ture was produced. This quarrel, however, professedly originated in the 
view taken by Mr. Calhoun of the conduct of General Jackson during the 
Seminole campaign, in 1818. 

General Jackson had commanded the American troops in that war, and 
acting, as he conceived, in the execution of his orders, had invaded the 
territory of Florida, then belonging to Spain, and occupied the forts and 
town of Pensacola, to which the Indians had fled for protection. The 
Spanish minister at Washington remonstrated, and in the discussions 
which took place in Mr. Monroe's cabinet respecting this transaction, Mr. 
Calhoun, as secretary of war, proposed that a court of inquiry should be 
held on General Jackson's conduct, inasmuch as he had transcended his 
orders. 

Mr. Crawford, then secretary of the treasury, also advocated a course 
Avhich would have been deemed a censure on General Jackson ; but the 
secretary of state (Mr. Adams), conceding that the orders from the war 
department had been transcended, so forcibly vindicated the course of 
General Jackson, upon principles of national law, that all proceedings 
against him were relinquished, and the government determined, in its dis- 
cussions with Spain, to justify the invasion, while it delivered up the 
posts. This was done by an able reply from the secretary of state to the 
complaints of the Spanish minister, in which the course of the American 
general was successfully vindicated. 

The subject was afterward agitated in Congress, and the friends of Mr. 
Crawford in that body were particularly distinguished for their efforts to 
censure the conduct of General Jackson. As might have been expected, 
the general felt greatly aggrieved by this attack, and his resentment was 
roused both against Mr. Crawford and Mr. Clay, whose opinions on this 
subject were openly avowed, in the debate on the Seminole war. Tow- 
ard Mr. Adams, by whom he had been so ably defended, and toward Mr. 
Calhoun, who had pubhcly sustained him, notwithstanding his first im- 
pressions, he had, until lately, expressed the warmest feelings of gratitude. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 313 

This harmonious footing (with regard to the latter), which was first dis- 
turbed by the controversy above mentioned, was now destined to be totally 
destroyed. 

Toward the close of the first session of the twenty-first Congress, a let- 
ter from Mr. Crawford to Mr. Forsyth was placed in the hands of General 
Jackson, by the agency of a particular friend of the secretary of state, then 
at Washington, accusing Mr. Calhoun of having proposed a censure upon 
him for his conduct in the Seminole campaign. This letter was transmit- 
ted to Mr. Calhoun by the president, with an intimation, that it was so 
contrary to his impressions of the course he had supposed Mr. Calhoun to 
have pursued, as to require some explanation. Mr. Calhoun replied, and 
showed, by referring to the correspondence between General Jackson and 
the government, in 1818, that he must have known Mr. Calhoun's opinion 
to be that he had transcended his orders, and that his vindication had then 
been placed on other and distinct grounds. Mr. Calhoun then proceeded 
to inquire into the motives which had led, at this late period, to a renewal 
of this discussion, and avowed his belief that it had originated in a desire 
to detract from his influence with the president, and thus to destroy his 
political standing with the friends of the administration. A long and pro- 
tracted correspondence ensued, in which the late secretary of the treas- 
ury, Mr. Crawford, and several of his confidential friends took part, and 
although the secretary of state distinctly disclaimed all knowledge of the 
preliminary movements, and all motive to detract from the political stand- 
ing of the vice-president, still, their respective claims upon the succession, 
his course in public and private, after being appointed secretary of state, 
and the political relations of the agents who appeared as the prime movers 
in this afl!air, produced a general impression that its sole object was to 
create a breach between the president and vice-president, with the view 
of destroying the influence of a formidable competitor for public favor.* 

Having alluded to the subject of nullification, as evinced by the acts of a 
portion of the people of the southern states, at this period, it is proper that 
we should notice in this place the origin and progress of that political doc- 
trine, as connected with controversies and events which occurred during 
this administration. It may be remarked, as a general proposition, that 
the southern states have, with the exception of South Carolina, been uni- 
formly hostile to the exercise of power by the general government. That 
state, although voting with the adjacent states on all local and on most na- 
tional questions, had on some occasions, as in 1790, '91, and in 1816, 
been foremost in asserting the right of Congress to legislate on certain 
disputed points. Among those were the subjects of internal improvement, 
the United States bank, and the tariff". A change of opinion had now 
taken place there, and it began to go beyond any of the advocates of state- 
rights, in its assertion of state sovereignty. A vehement opposition to a 
* American Annual Register . 



314 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

protective tariff, both in 1824 and on the subsequent modification in 1828, 
had been led by the talented delegation in Congress, and when they were 
defeated in the halls of legislation, with characteristic energy they re- 
newed their efforts to overturn the system, and to render it unpopular with 
the people. 

At first it was contemplated, on its passage, to resign their seats in 
Congress, and a meeting of the delegation was held at Washington, with 
the view of deciding upon the steps which should be taken. This propo- 
sition was discussed, together with that of declaring the law to be void 
and of no effect within the state, and the chances of a successful resist- 
ance to the federal government were freely canvassed. 

The delegation, however, did not concur in adopting violent measures, 
and it was determined to endeavor, upon their return home, to rouse their 
constituents to a more effectual opposition to the protective system. No 
exertions were spared to excite public feeling against the law. It was 
denounced as a measure local in its character, partial and oppressive in 
its operation, and unconstitutional in principle. 

Having convinced themselves of this, they began to question the right 
of the federal government to require obedience, and almost simultaneously 
with the legislature of Georgia, which, December 24, 1827, resolved to 
submit only to its own construction of the federal compact, the senate of 
South Carolina instituted a committee to inquire into the powers of the fed- 
eral government, in reference to certain subjects then agitated. 

The report of this committee, which received the sanction of both 
branches of the legislature, in December, 1827, asserted that the federal 
constitution was a compact originally formed, not between the people of 
the United States at large, but between the people of the different states, as 
distinct and independent sovereignties ; and that when any violation of the 
letter or spirit of that compact took place, it is not only the right of the 
people, but of the state legislatures, to remonstrate against it ; that the 
federal government was responsible to the people whenever it abused or 
injudiciously exercised powers intrusted to it, and that it was responsible 
to the state legislatures whenever it assumed powers not conferred. Ad- 
mitting that, under the constitution, a tribunal was appointed to decide 
controversies, where the United States was a party, the report contended 
that some questions must occur between the United States and the states, 
which it would be unsafe to submit to any judicial tribunal. The supreme 
court had already manifested an undue leaning in favor of the federal 
government ; and when the constitution was violated in its spirit, and not 
literally, there was peculiar propriety in a state legislature's undertaking 
to decide for itself, inasmuch as the constitution had not provided any 
remedy. 

The report then proceeded to declare all legislation for the protection 
of domestic manufactures to be unconstitutional, as being in favor of a 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 315 

local interest, and that Congress had no power to legislate, except upon 
subjects of general interest. The power to construct roads and canals 
within the limits of a state, or to appropriate money for that purpose, was 
also denounced as unconstitutional, as was all legislation for the purpose 
of meliorating the condition of the free colored or the slave population of 
the United States. 

On this last topic, it was intimated that no reasoning could take place 
between the United States and South Carolina. It was a question of 
feeling too intimately connected with their tranquillity and safety to be 
discussed. 

In remonstrating against these violations of the constitution, the state 
should appear as a sovereign, and not as a suppliant, before the national 
legislature ; and resolutions, expressive of the approbation of the state 
legislature of these principles, having passed both houses, they were trans- 
mitted, with the report, to the delegation in Congress, to be laid before that 
body, then engaged in the consideration of the tariff. 

That law having passed, the legislature of the state, at the next session, 
sanctioned a protest against it as unconstitutional, oppressive, and unjust, 
which was transmitted to their senators, to be entered upon the journal of 
the senate. This was done on the 10th of February, 1829. The change 
which took place in the federal government caused a belief that some sat- 
isfactory modification would be made of the tariff; and during the summer 
of 1829 the excitement appeared to be directed less against the adminis- 
tration, and more concentrated against the law itself. The doctrine, how- 
ever, of the right of a state to nullify an act of Congress was not relin- 
quished, although it seemed to be conceded that it would be best to attempt 
first to procure the repeal of the obnoxious law. In these opinions the 
state government of Georgia fully concurred. As a measure of policy, 
the tariff was equally unpopular ; and the controversy respecting the In- 
dians had been carried to that length, as to bring the state in collision 
with a law of Congress, and to induce the legislature to declare that it 
should be disregarded and held void. 

The legislature of Virginia also declared its assent to the same prin- 
ciple of nullification, by a vote of 134 to 68 ; and judging from the opin- 
ions expressed by the public functionaries of those states, the time ap- 
peared to be near at hand when the Union was about to be dissolved, by 
the determination of a large section not to submit to the laws of the fed- 
eral government, nor to any common tribunal appointed to decide upon 
their constitutionality. 

A check was indeed given to this spirit by the state of North Carolina, 
which, although not then less averse to the policy of the tariff, declared 
itself against all violent measures in opposition to it. 

The state of Alabama also, in 1828, when remonstrating against the 
passage of the tariff, conceded the right of Congress to pass revenue laws, 



316 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

although the incidental effect might be to protect domestic manufactures. 
In 1829, indeed, this state went further, and assumed nearly the same 
ground with Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia ; still the qualified op- 
position first made to the law, proved that the south was not united in the 
unconstitutional stand taken by some of the states on that subject, and that 
the injustice and oppression which were so vehemently denounced, were 
not so plainly and generally felt as to render resistance to the tariff a pop- 
ular step. Indeed, it was doubted whether the feelings of the people in 
the three states which had declared in favor of nullification, were not mis- 
represented by the local legislatures. However decidedly they might have 
disapproved of the policy of protection, no sufficient evidence had yet been 
given that they deemed it a greater evil than disunion ; and the declara- 
tions and resolutions put forth by the state governments were considered 
as the sudden ebullitions of violent feelings, or as efforts on the part of 
leading men to excite a tempest in the public mind for political effect. 
This movement was not rendered less dangerous by the motives of those 
who made it. When the storm began to rage, it would be impossible to 
control it. It might as easily break down the barriers of the constitution 
and overturn the government, as annul an unpopular law. The federative 
principle of the constitution, and the whole authority of Congress and of 
the federal judiciary, were put in issue by the question now started, and 
however unwilling the leaders might be to destroy the Union, still experi- 
ence had too clearly shown the difficulty of restraining an excited people, 
not to create apprehension as to the result of these efforts to throw off the 
authority of the general government. Similar movements in another por- 
tion of the Union, also originating in local interests, and aiming at an ex- 
tension of state sovereignty, to the detriment of the just claims of the fed- 
eral government, gave additional ground for these apprehensions. Efforts 
had been made of late years, in some of the western states, to induce them 
to claim, under pretence of their rights as sovereign states, the public 
lands belonging to the United States within their several limits.* This 
subject gave rise to the important debate in the senate on Mr. Foot's reso- 
lutions, in 1830, already noticed. 

The question of internal improvements by the general government was 
discussed during the first session of the twenty-first Congress, when it 
appeared that the friends of the system retained a majority in both houses. 
Among the bills passed at this session was one authorizing a subscription 
to the stock of the Maysville and Lexington road company, in Kentucky. 
It passed the house by a vote of 102 to 85, and the senate 24 to 18. 
After retaining the bill eight days, the president returned it to the house 
on the 27th of May, 1830, with his objections, as set forth in his message 
of that date. 

The reading of this veto message caused much excitement in Congress. 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 317 

Many of the friends of the president from Pennsylvania, and from the 
west, had relied upon his adhering to his former opinions upon this ques- 
tion, and this message first forced upon their minds a conviction as un- 
w^elcome as it was unexpected. The question being taken upon the pas- 
sage of the bill, notwithstanding the objections of the president, after a 
warm debate on the reconsideration, the vote stood, yeas 96, nays 92. 
Two thirds of the house not agreeing to pass the bill, it was rejected, 
although a majority of the house thus refused to sustain the objections of 
the president. 

On the 29th of May, the house of representatives took up several bills 
relating to internal improvement which originated in the senate, and, not- 
withstanding the presidential veto of the Maysville road bill, passed, by 
large majorities, three acts, viz. : 1st, authorizing a subscription to the 
Washington turnpike company ; 2d, authorizing a subscription to the 
Louisville and Portland canal company ; 3d, appropriating money for 
lighthouses, improving harbors, directing surveys, &c. The first bill, be- 
ing similar to the one already rejected by the president, was returned by 
him to the senate, where it originated, with a reference to the message on 
the Maysville bill for his reasons. The senate then proceeded to recon- 
sider the bill, and on the question of its passage, notwithstanding the ob- 
jections of the president, the vote stood, yeas 21, nays 17, and the ma- 
jority being less than two thirds, the bill was rejected. 

The other two bills were retained by the president for further consid- 
eration, untill the next session of Congress. This determination of the 
executive against the system of internal improvement, gave great off'ence 
to many of his friends, and entirely alienated some from his party. Even 
in Congress such an increasing want of confidence was manifested, that 
the decided majorities which the administration possessed in both houses 
at the commencement of the session, had dwindled before its close into 
feeble and inefficient minorities. Nor was this the only difficulty in 
which the executive was involved by the course taken on internal im- 
provement. He had sanctioned a bill for continuing the Cumberland road, 
and making other appropriations for roads and surveys ; and another for 
the improvement of harbors and rivers, both of which were branches in 
the general system of internal improvement. The former bill he approved 
of, with a qualification, by referring to a message sent to the house, to- 
gether with the bill, wherein he declared, that as a section appropriating 
$8,000 for the road from Detroit to Chicago, might be construed to au- 
thorize the application of the appropriation to continue the road beyond 
the territory of Michigan, he desired to be understood as having approved 
the bill, with the understanding that the road is not to be extended beyond 
the limits of the said territory. The novelty of this act on the part of the 
president, attracted much attention, as the constitution confines the action 



318 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

of the president on the legislation of Congress to a mere naked right of 
approval or disapproval. 

The approval of the acts authorizing the appropriations above men- 
tioned, left it still doubtful hov/ far the president felt at liberty to assent to 
internal improvement bills, and of the exact extent and limits of the prin- 
ciples by which he intended to be governed during the residue of his ad- 
ministration. Some dissatisfaction was excited by the unusual course he 
adopted, of retaining bills until the next session ; and the country looked 
forward with some curiosity for the further development of his views on 
this question, at the next session of Congress.* 

The most important of the foreign relations of the United States left 
unsettled by President Adams, were those of the commercial intercourse 
■with Great Britain, and the boundaries between the American colonies of 
that power and the United States ; and the claims of the United States on 
France for indemnity on account of depredations on our commerce and 
navigation. Efforts had been making, for more than ten years, to obtain 
compensation for these losses, but the subject had not been finally and 
satisfactorily settled. And the restrictions imposed by the British gov- 
ernment on the trade between the British colonies and the United States, 
had not been removed. 

In July, 1825, the former colonial policy was somewhat changed by the 
British administration ; and efforts were made for supplying the West 
India islands, which had received various articles from the United States, 
from their possessions on the American continent, namely, Canada, Nova 
Scotia, and New Brunswick. Trade was opened to and with all other 
nations to which colonies belonged ; so that the United States were ex- 
cluded from the benefits which the nations of Europe might secure. There 
•was another difliculty attending the subject. While the federal admin- 
istration was considering in what way the United States could best avail 
itself of this measure of the British government, the latter, in July, 1826, 
passed an order excluding the vessels of the United States from their co- 
lonial ports. And in this state the commercial relations of the two coun- 
tries remained when President Adams retired from office. f 

Mr. Gallatin, envoy at the court of England, returned in 1827, and Mr. 
Barbour was appointed his successor by Mr. Adams, in May, 1828. In 
1829, President Jackson appointed Louis M'Lane, of Delaware, envoy to 
Great Britain, William C. Rives, of Virginia, to France, and Cornelius P. 
Van Ness to Spain. 

By an act of Congress of May, 1830, provision was made for revi- 
ving and opening the direct trade with the British ports in the West India 
islands ; Avhich had long been prevented by the measures of the British 
government. The terms proposed in this act of Congress were accepted 
by the British ministry, after having put their own construction upon them. 
• American Annual Register. t Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 319 

The loss of the colonial trade was imputed entirely to the mismanage- 
ment of the administration of Mr. Adams, and the Jackson administration 
came into power under strong assurances on the part of its friends, that 
no effort would be spared to induce England to open the West India ports 
to American vessels. 

Accordingly, shortly after the inauguration of General Jackson, Mr. 
M'Lane, of Delaware, was appointed minister to England, with special 
instructions on this point. The secretary of state, in these instructions, 
stated that there were three grounds on which the United States were as- 
sailable : " 1st, in their too long and too tenaciously resisting the right of 
Great Britain to impose protecting duties in her colonies ; 2d, in confining 
British vessels to the direct voyage, after the passage of the act of parlia- 
ment of 1825 ; and 3d, in omitting to accept the terms offered by that act." 
Mr. M'Lane was instructed to obviate the unfavorable impression pro- 
duced by these circumstances ; and, to enable him so to do, he was au- 
thorized to say to the British government, that the United States would 
recede from those grounds, by abolishing the discriminating duties oa 
British vessels coming from the colonies ; by repealing the provisions of 
the act of Congress of 1823 ; and by acceding to the terms of the act of 
parliament of 1825. The instructions then proceed to say, that the Brit- 
ish government ought not to object to entering into this arrangement on 
account of the omission of the government of the United States to accept 
of those terms when formerly offered ; that Mr. M'Lane knew of the 
course taken by the party now in power, in reference to the policy of the 
late administration on that question, and he was authorized to state to the 
British government that the pretensions of that administration had not 
been sustained by the people of the United States, and were not to be 
regarded as the views of the government. 

Mr. M'Lane, shortly after his arrival in London, communicated to the 
earl of Aberdeen the grounds upon which he desired to open the negotia- 
tion. To this communication no reply was made, except one generally, 
professing a friendly feeling, and a desire to amicably adjust the business. 
The verbal conferences between the negotiators, however, continued, and 
the cabinet at Washington felt so desirous of regaining the trade, that tow- 
ard the close of the session, a special message on the subject was sent to 
Congress (dated May 26, 1830), which was committed, in the house, to 
the committee on commerce, who the next day reported a bill authorizin*' 
the president to suspend or repeal by proclamation, the acts of Congress 
of 1818, 1820, and 1823, whenever he could be satisfied that Great Brit- 
ain would open the West India ports, for an indefinite or a limited term, to 
American vessels from the United States, subject to the same duties as 
British vessels from the United States ; and that American vessels would 
be permitted to carry the produce of those islands to all countries except 
British possessions, to which British vessels were permitted to carry it. 



320 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

The ports of the United States were then to be opened to British vessels 
from the colonies, upon the same terms as American vessels. 

After the passage of this act by Congress, it was immediately commu- 
nicated to the British government, as an additional proof of the disposition 
of the American government to relinquish the stand it had hitherto taken 
on this question, and the secretary of state, in his letter of June 18, 1830, 
informing Mr. M'Lane of its passage, instructed him to so represent it to 
the British government. It was so represented ; and our minister, in hia 
letter to the earl of Aberdeen, of July 12, declared, that "the law conce- 
ded in its terms all the power in the regulation of the colonial trade to 
Great Britain, and that it authorized the president to confer on British ves- 
sels all those privileges, as well in the circuitous as the direct voyage, 
which Great Britain had at any time demanded or desired. 

These concessions were at length deemed sufficient by the British gov- 
ernment ; and on the 17th of August, 1830, an answer was given by the 
earl of Aberdeen, in which ^hese concessions and abandonment of a 
principle long contended for, are specifically recapitulated, as if to pre- 
clude the United States from again insisting upon it ; a construction put 
upon the late act of Congress agreeable to the views of Great Britain, an 
intimation given that the British government contemplated an augmenta- 
tion of the duties on produce imported directly from the United States, 
with the view of encouraging the importation through the northern colo- 
nies, and finally an assurance made that the carrying into effect of the 
law of Congress, would remove all difficulty in the way of the renewal of 
intercourse, on the footing of the act of parliament of 1825. 

Upon the receipt of this answer at Washington, the president issued a 
proclamation, dated October 5, 1830, opening the ports of the United 
States to British vessels from all the British colonies on or near the North 
American continent, and declaring the acts of Congress of 1818, 1820, and 
1823, absolutely repealed. The trade in British vessels, accordingly, at 
once commenced, and on the 5th of November following, the British gov- 
ernment, by an order of council, opened the colonial ports to vessels of 
the United States. 

The controversy was thus terminated, and, although the principle of 
reciprocity was so far given up as to concede to Great Britain the cir- 
cuitous voyage as well as the right to encourage the indirect importation 
of American produce, through the northern colonies, by augmenting the 
duties on the direct importation, the United States, on their part, gained 
a participation in the direct intercourse, upon terms of reciprocity, and the 
additional privilege of exporting goods from the British colonies to foreign 
countries. The controversy resulted, substantially, to the advantage of 
American interests, although the principle contended for by Great Britain 
prevailed.* 

• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 321 

A commercial treaty with the emperor of Brazil was concluded and 
signed at Rio Janeiro, in December, 1828, on the part of the United 
States, by Mr. Tudor, the American envoy to that empire, which was rati- 
fied by the president and senate in March, 1829. The president and sen- 
ate also ratified, in March, 1829, a treaty of commerce with the king of 
Prussia, which had been negotiated at Washington, in May, 1828, by Mr. 
Clay, then secretary of state, and the Prussian minister. In March, 1830, 
Mr. Wheaton, American minister to Denmark, negotiated a treaty with 
that government, by which the sum of six hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
lars was recovered for spoliations on American commerce by Danish ves- 
sels. A commercial treaty, the terms of which had been negotiated at 
Constantinople by Mr. Ofliey, American consul at Smyrna, who had been 
authorized by Mr. Adams, in 1828, to act with Captain Crane, of the 
navy, on the part of the United States, was finally concluded in 1830, by 
three commissioners on the part of the United States, viz., Mr. Offley, Cap-' 
tain Biddle, of the navy, and Mr. Rhind, United States consul at Odessa ; 
the two latter being appointed commissioners by President Jackson. 

The second session of the twenty-first Congress commenced on the 
6th of December, 1830, and continued to the 3d of March, 1831. The 
first topic which engaged the attention of Congress, was the trial of the 
impeachment of James H. Peck, judge of the district court of Missouri. 
A complaint had been made to the house of representatives, at the last 
session, against the judge, by Luke E. Lawless, for having committed 
him to prison for contempt j and, after a full investigation, it was resolved, 
by a vote of 123 to 49, that Judge Peck be impeached of high misdemea- 
nors in office. It being necessary to procure the attendance of witnesses 
from Missouri, the trial of the impeachment was postponed from May to 
December following, at the next session of Congress, when the trial 
came on in the senate. Mr. Lawless was a counseller at law in Missouri, 
and had been committed by Judge Peck for contempt of court, and sus- 
pended from practising in that court for eighteen months. 

For this arbitrary conduct the judge was impeached, but the senate, be- 
lieving that he had proceeded upon a mistaken view of the powers of the 
court, refused to find him guilty upon the article of impeachment. The 
vote stood, guilty 21, not guilty 22. 

This impeachment, however, produced a strong conviction of the ne- 
cessity of limiting and defining the power of the judiciary, in relation to 
the law of contempts. It was universally conceded, that the common law 
doctrine of the English courts was inconsistent with free institutions, and 
entirely inapplicable to this country. Scarcely, therefore, had the senate 
determined upon the impeachment of Judge Peck, when a bill was intro- 
duced into the house, declaratory of the law concerning contempts of 
court. The bill, which greatly limited the power of the United States 
courts, became a law on the 2d of March, 1831. 
21 



322 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

The subject of internal improvement was again agitated at this session 
of Congress. The president returned the two bills mentioned in a prece- 
ding page, which he had retained at the last session, and he now gave his 
reasons for withholding his assent to them. He objected to the power of 
making internal improvements by the general government, and recom- 
mended the distribution of the surplus funds in the national treasury among 
the states, in proportion to the number of their representatives, to be ap- 
plied by them to objects of internal improvement. 

The proposition was generally regarded as evidence of the hostility of 
the president to the whole policy ; and that part of his message being re- 
ferred to the committee on internal improvement, a report was brought in 
by Mr. Hemphill, an administration member of the house from Pennsyl- 
vania, strongly and pointedly condemning the views contained in the mes- 
sage, and concluding with a resolution that it is expedient for the general 
government to continue to prosecute internal improvements by direct ap- 
propriations of money, or by subscriptions for stock in companies incorpo- 
rated in the respective states. 

This intimation on the part of the friends of internal improvement, of 
their determination to act on that question in defiance of the opinions of 
the president, was followed up by the introduction of several bills for the 
internal improvement of the country. The first of these bills was one 
making appropriations for the improvement of harbors, and removing ob- 
structions in rivers. It passed the house by a vote of 136 yeas to 53 
nays, and the senate by 28 to 6. 

The decisive votes in both houses, on this bill, showed the determina- 
tion of Congress to act on the subject of internal improvement, without 
regard to the veto of the president, and as the friends of the bill now formed 
more than two thirds of Congress, the executive yielded his scruples to 
the force of public opinion, and signed the bill. The constitutional objec- 
tion to the power of the federal government, was no longer adhered to by 
the president, and he also gave his assent to a bill making large appropri- 
ations for carrying on certain roads and works of internal improvement, 
including improvements of rivers, and providing for surveys. The bill for 
building lighthouses passed by large majorities, and was also sanctioned 
by the president. 

The executive thus yielded to public opinion, expressed in Congress, 
and by the decisive votes given in both houses, the policy of internal im- 
provement was considered as firmly established, ahhough the action of 
the federal government in relation to the system had been checked by the 
previous vetoes of the president. 

The removal of the Indian tribes from the states of Georgia, Alabama, 
and Mississippi, to the territory set apart for them west of the Mississippi 
river, agreeably to the act passed at the first session of the twenty-first 
Congress, and treaties made with the Indians, excited much attention at 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 323 

lliis time, but no further important legislation on the subject took place at 
the second session of the same Congress. Some difficulties occurred in 
the Cherokee country, in Georgia, in consequence of the withdrawal of 
the United States troops, and the enforcement of the state laws by the 
authorities of Georgia. Some missionaries among the Indians were ar- 
rested, tried, and sentenced to the penitentiary of Georgia, for residing in 
the Cherokee country, contrary to the law of the state, and for having re- 
fused to take the oath of allegiance to the state of Georgia. The Cherokees, 
being between fourteen and fifteen thousand persons east of the Missis- 
sippi, refused to remove from their territory, or even to treat for its cession. 
The Choctaws, a numerous tribe in Mississippi and Alabama, however, 
made a treaty with the United States for the surrender of their lands, and 
agreed to remove beyond the Mississippi. 

The principal acts of general interest passed at the second session of 
the twenty-first Congress, besides those relating to internal improvement, 
were the following : To amend the copyright laws, by which the term of 
copyright to authors and others was extended to twenty-eight years, with 
the privilege of renewing the same for fourteen years more ; making ap- 
propriations for revolutionary and invalid pensioners ; to provide for the 
final settlement and adjustment of the claims preferred by James Monroe, 
ex-president, against the United States : making appropriations for carry- 
ing into effect certain Indian treaties ; for the relief of certain insolvent 
debtors of the United States, extending to all debtors to the general gov- 
ernment, except the principals on official bonds, or such as had received 
the public moneys and not paid the same over to the treasury ; for the 
continuation of the Cumberland road in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois ; con- 
firming the grants of land made by the United States in 1819, for the en- 
couragement of the culture of the vine and olive ; granting the control of 
the national road in Ohio to that state, for the purpose of erecting gates and 
tollhouses thereon ; and an act allowing duties on imports to be paid at 
Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Nashville, and other ports on the Avaters of the Ohio 
and Mississippi rivers. 

The alienation of feeling between the president and a large portion of 
his early and prominent supporters, in consequence of his dispute with the 
vice-president, had existed some months before it was generally suspect- 
ed ; and although an angry and acrimonious correspondence was carried 
on between the president and vice-president, in reference to the Seminole 
campaign, appearances were preserved, and in the divisions which fre- 
quently took place in the senate, the executive nominations had the sup- 
port of the vice-president and his friends. It was intimated shortly 
before the close of the session, notwithstanding efforts were made to 
adjust the difRculties, that the correspondence alluded to would be soon 
laid before the American people. Pursuant to that intimation, the corre- 
spondence was published at the adjournment of Congress, 



324 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

This decisive step plainly indicated a division among the friends of the 
administration ; and as the influence of the vice-president predominated in 
the southern states, and he was not without friends in the middle states, 
his appeal began to affect injuriously the administration itself, from a con- 
viction that its head was operated upon by improper feelings and preju- 
dices. 

These indications of the withdrawal of public confidence were immedi- 
ately perceived at Washington, and, with the view of producing a reunion 
of the party until after the ensuing presidential election, arrangements were 
made for an entire reorganization of the cabinet. From the moment when 
the breach was produced between the president and vice-president, the 
policy of the administration was controlled by the secretary of state, and 
was in accordance with his opinions, so far as they were understood.* 

Previous to this it was understood that the president determined, con- 
trary to the practice of his predecessors, to hold no cabinet coimcils, and 
therefore no definite plan of policy was adopted as the result of the joint 
deliberations of his constitutional advisers. It was charged by the oppo- 
sition, but denied by the friends of the president, that his opinions were 
influenced, and appointments to office effected, through the instrumentality 
of a self-constituted combination, which received the name of " the 
kitchen cabinet." The persons who were said to compose this cabal 
were principally office-holders at the seat of government, having subordi- 
nate situations in the treasury and other departments. Whether true or 
false, the existence of this secret influence upon the action of the execu- 
tive was constantly asserted by the opposition, throughout the greater part 
of General Jackson's administration, and allusions to the subject will be 
constantly found repeated in the party journals of the times. 

It had now become a desirable object to effect the re-election of Presi- 
dent Jackson. The difficulty of uniting the dominant party upon a suc- 
cessor, had induced him to relinquish his professed intention of serving 
but one term, and he was now formally announced as a candidate for re- 
election. He was nominated by his friends in the legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania, and at the caucus of the Jackson members of the legislature of New 
York, on the 13th of February, 1830, it was resolved that General Jack- 
son ought again to be nominated for the presidency. This movement, 
(says Mr. Hammond, in his political history of New York) was probably 
made at the suggestion of Mr. Van Buren, or some of his confidential I 

friends. It was well known that Mr. Van Buren expected to be the suc- 
cessor of General Jackson. This would afford evidence of the ardent 
personal attachment of Mr. Van Buren's immediate friends to General 
Jackson, and aid in securing to that gentleman the continued confidence 
and support of the president. 

General Jackson had, before his election in 1828, expressed an opinion 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSOrf. SSt" 

that the president ought to hold his office but one term, and had recom- 
mended an amendment of the constitution to render the president ineligi- 
ble to two successive elections. But in 1831 he yielded to the importu- 
nity of his political friends, and consented to be a candidate for re-election. 

It is more than probable that the friends of Mr. Calhoun looked to him 
as the successor of General Jackson, and expected, from the repeated 
declarations of the president, that he would not allow himself to be again a 
candidate. They could not, therefore, have learned with much compla- 
cency, that the president had changed his determination. Accordingly, 
it will have been perceived that the solicitations that General Jack- 
son would consent to a re-election, originated, generally, with the friends 
of Mr. Van Buren. 

In this postiire of affairs the country was astonished by the information 
promulgated on the 20th of April, 1831, through the official journal, at the 
seat of government, that the cabinet ministers of the president had resigned, 
and the most lively curiosity was manifested to learn the causes of this 
unexpected movement. The letters of the several members of the cabinet 
were published, but they served to inflame rather than to gratify the pub- 
lic feeling. The secretary of war, Mr. Eaton, first resigned, without as- 
signing any reason, on the 7th of April, and he was followed by the secre- 
tary of state, Mr. Van Buren, on the 11 ih of April, who assigned as a reason, 
that circumstances beyond his control had presented him before the public 
as a candidate for the succession to the presidency, and that the injurious 
effects necessarily resulting from a cabinet minister's holding that relation to 
the country, had left him only the alternative of retiring from the adminis- 
tration, or of submitting to a self-disfranchisement, hardly reconcilable with 
propriety or self-respect. This was considered a curious reason, as Mr. 
Van Buren had not been formally nominated as a candidate, and men's 
thoughts had scarcely wandered beyond the election of 1832 to that 
of 1836. 

Intimations having been made to the secretary of the treasury, Mr. Ing- 
ham, and Mr. Branch, sepretary of the navy, expressive of a wish on the part 
of the president that they should resign their commissions, their resignations 
were forthwith made, and were accepted by the president, in formal let- 
ters, expressing his satisfaction with their official conduct, and stating his 
motive for requiring their resignation. This was, to use his own words, 
that having concluded to accept the resignation of the secretaries of state 
and of war, he had come to the conviction that he must entirely renew his 
cabinet. " Its members had been invited by me," he said, " to the sta- 
tions they occupied. It had come together in great harmony, and as a 
unit. Under the circumstances in which I found myself, I could not but 
perceive the propriety of selecting a cabinet composed of entirely new 
materials, as being calculated, in this respect at least, to command public 
confidence, and satisfy public opinion," 



326 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

The intimation of his intention to reorganize his cabinet, was also con- 
sidered to extend to the attorney-general, Mr. Berrien, who was then on a 
visit to Georgia. His resignation was accordingly tendered to the presi- 
dent upon his return to the seat of government on the 15th of June. 

The cabinet had been partially reorganized about a month previous, by 
the appointment of the secretaries of state and of the navy. The ar- 
rangements, however, were not finally completed until after the resignation 
of the attorney-general ; and it was then generally understood that the 
postmaster-general would not follow the example of the other members of 
the administration — it being deemed improper for him to retire, while the 
charge made in the senate, just before the adjournment, of his having 
behaved corruptly in his office, remained neither withdrawn, nor explained, 
nor investigated.* 

Notwithstanding two months had elapsed between the resignations of 
the secretaries and that of the attorney-general, nothing transpired to throw 
light upon the real cause of the dissolution of the cabinet. The mystery 
was finally developed by a communication of the attorney-general to the 
public, in which the cause of this want of harmony in the administration 
was attributed to a determination to compel the families of the dismissed 
members of the cabinet to associate with the wife of the secretary of war. 
By this statement it appeared that these ladies had, in accordance with 
the general understanding of the female part of society at Washington, de- 
clined to visit the family of the secretary of war, and that this neglect, being 
resented by that gentleman, had produced a coolness between him and the 
heads of those families. As the president warmly espoused the feelings 
of the secretary of war, as of an old and confidential friend, it was ru- 
mored, early in the year, that their removal would be a consequence of 
this resentment ; and the attorney-general stated, that about that time a 
confidential friend of the president (Richard M.Johnson) called upon him 
and the other refractory members, as from the president, and intimated to 
them, that unless they would consent to at least a formal intercourse be- 
tween their families and that of the secretary of war, he had determined 
to remove them from office. They replied, that while they felt bound to 
maintain a frank and harmonious intercourse with their colleagues, they 
would not permit any interference with the social relations of their fami- 
lies, and wholly refused to comply with the request. Other friends, how- 
ever, interfered, and the president was induced to waive any further pros- 
ecution of the subject at that time.f 

To that refusal, however, he attributed the want of harmony of the cab- 
inet, and its consequent dissolution. 

This charge, from a high and unquestioned source, imputing an inter- 
ference with the private and domestic relations of the members of his cab- 
inet, produced a strong impression upon the public mind ; and with the 
• American Annual Register. t Ibid. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 327 

view of obviating that unfavorable impression, a different version was 
soon furnished of these transactions, by the friends of the administration. 
According to this version, it seemed that the president, believing that a 
combination had been entered into by the vice-president and a portion of 
his cabinet, to drive the secretary of war from the administration, by ex- 
cluding his family from society, had determined on reorganizing his cabi- 
net, unless its members would consent to meet upon terms of harmonious 
intercourse. With the view of averting that result. Colonel R. M. John- 
son called upon the members of the cabinet, and suggested to them the 
propriety of associating with the family of the secretary of war, or at least 
of assenting to a formal intercourse, which would be all that the president 
could desire. In making this proposition. Colonel Johnson asserted, that 
he was actuated solely by a desire to prevent a dissolution of the cabinet ; 
that it was upon his own authority ; and that he was in no shape author- 
ized by the president to make any such requisition. 

This version was sustained by an authorized publication on the part of 
the president, while that of the attorney-general was supported by the tes- 
timony of the secretaries of the navy and of the treasury.* 

The consequence of this explosion of the cabinet, and the quarrel be- 
tween the president and vice-president before mentioned, was to place the 
latter, and his friends generally, in opposition to the administration, and 
to advance the political fortunes of Mr. Van Buren, in consequence of his 
close connexion with General Jackson and those devoted to his interest. 

The new cabinet, which was not completely organized until late in the 
summer of 1831, was constituted as follows : — 

Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, secretary of state ; Louis M'Lane, of 
Delaware, secretary of the treasury ; Lewis Cass, of Ohio, secretary of 
war; Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, secretary of the navy; Roger 
B. Taney, of Maryland, attorney-general. 

This cabinet was not only superior to that which preceded it, but might 
fairly compare, in point of talent and ability, with most of those of previ- 
ous administrations ; and its character furnished strong testimony of the 
tribute paid to public opinion in the selection of his advisers, by a chief 
magistrate of great personal popularity. 

Before the organization of this cabinet, an opposition was formed to the 
re-election of General Jackson, on various grounds. This party, in some 
portions of the Union called " national republican," manifested a disposi- 
tion to support Henry Clay, of Kentucky, as its candidate for the presi- 
dency. He was accordingly nominated by the legislatures of several 
states, and a national nominating convention was recommended to be held 
at Baltimore, on the 12th of December, 1831. 

The opposition party which rallied under the name of " national repub- 
lican," was composed principally of the friends of the late administration, 
* American Annual Register. 



328 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

and those who had opposed Mr. Adams, but were now dissatisfied with the 
course of General Jackson, excepting the friends of the vice-president, 
who formed a distinct section of the opposition. 

Another party, at first merely local, had arisen previous to these events, 
was fast gathering strength, and had now so far extended itself as to as- 
sume consequence as a national party, and claimed the right of being con- 
sulted as to the candidates to be nominated for president and vice-presi- 
dent. This was called the anti-masonic party, and had its origin in the 
abduction and supposed murder of William Morgan, a citizen of western 
New York, which affair took place in 1826, in consequence of an alleged 
violation of his masonic obligations, and a disclosure, real or pretended, of 
the secrets of freemasonry. This caused the organization of a political 
party in the western part of the state of New York, which gradually ex- 
tended into some of the adjoining states, upon the simple ground of hos- 
tility to masonry. 

Having met with partial success in elections in several of the states, 
the anti-masons held a national convention at Philadelphia, in September, 

1830, which was attended by delegates from eleven of the northern and 
middle states. After adopting various proceedings against masonry, they 
recommended a national convention to be held at Baltimore, in September, 

1831, for the purpose of nominating candidates for president and vice- 
president of the United States. 

The eflect of the political organization of the anti-masons was to com- 
pel a more strict and intimate union among the adhering members of the 
fraternity, and to induce them to exercise a more direct influence in the 
politics of the country, in the hope of crushing a party whose avowed ob- 
ject was the annihilation of their order. In some parts of the country, 
■where the leading national republicans showed a disposition to unite with 
the anti-masons, many of the most zealous masons forsook their political 
association with the former party, and, to oppose the anti-masonic parly 
with efficiency, joined the ranks of the administration. 

Thus the opposition to General Jackson seemed destined to be as much 
thwarted by their own divisions as by the discipline and concert prevail- 
ing in the party sustaining his administration. It was, indeed, believed that 
it would be practicable to concentrate the votes of the anti-masons and 
national republicans on one candidate for the presidency. Mr. Clay be- 
ing a mason, his nomination by the anti -masons was out of the question. 
When the anti-masonic convention assembled at Baltimore, in September, 
1831, it was expected that John M'Lean, of Ohio, formerly postmaster- 
general, and appointed by General Jackson a judge of the supreme court, 
would receive the nomination of that party for the presidency, with a view 
of uniting on him the different sections of the opposition. Certain ma- 
sonic leaders of the national republicans having intimated a determination 
to withhold their support from a union so formed, Judge M'Lean, proba- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 329 

bly for this, as well as other reasons, declined being considered a candi- 
date. The anti-masonic convention, therefore, nominated William Wirt, 
of Maryland, formerly attorney-general of the United States, for president, 
and Amos EUmaker, of Pennsylvania, for vice-president. 

The national republicans, on their part, professed great confidence in 
the integrity and qualifications of Mr. Wirt, but insisted that they could 
not with honor sacrifice Mr. Clay to what they denominated an unreason- 
able prejudice, nor could they, consistently with their self-respect, give 
up the candidate of the great majority of the opposition, to quiet the scru- 
ples of the minority. 

Shortly after his resignation as secretary of state, Mr. Van Buren re- 
ceived from the president the appointment of minister to England, and 
embarked for London in August, during the recess of the senate. 

The twenty-second Congress commenced its first session on the 5th 
of December, 1831, and continued the same until the 16th of July, 1832. 
The elections had evinced a large majority of the members chosen to the 
house of representatives in favor of the administration, but the vote for 
speaker exhibited a considerable increase in the strength of the opposition, 
although divided. The candidate of the administration, Andrew Steven- 
son, was elected by 98 votes, against 97 for all other persons ; thus re- 
ceiving the exact number necessary to constitute a choice. In the sen- 
ate, Samuel Smith resumed the chair as president pro tempore. 

The appointments made during the recess were nominated to the sen- 
ate early in December, and on the 10th of January the committee on for- 
eign relations reported in favor of Martin Van Buren, minister to England, 
Aaron Vail, secretary of legation, and Louis M'Lane, secretary of the 
treasury. On the 13th of January the other nominations were confirmed, 
but that of Mr. Van Buren was laid on the table, by the casting vote of 
the vice-president. When this nomination came before the senate, it was 
warmly opposed on two distinct grounds. Four of the senators, who were 
friends of the vice-president, declared themselves opposed to its confirma- 
tion, on account of the agency of Mr. Van Buren in breaking up the late 
cabinet, and in the domestic politics of the country. 

The other members who opposed his appointment, professed to be q-qv- 
erned by higher considerations. They contended, that in his instructions 
to Mr. M'Lane, in relation to the West India trade, he had evinced a 
manifest disposition to establish a distinction between his country and his 
party ; to make interest at a foreign court for that party, rather than for 
the country ; to persuade the British government, that it was for its ad- 
vantage to maintain in the United States the ascendency of that party ; 
and that the whole tone of those instructions was derogatory to the dig- 
nity and independence of the United States. 

The expressions in these instructions were regarded as placing the 
American government in a supplicating attitude before the British minis- 



330 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

try ; as asking favors of England for the course taken by the dominant 
party in opposing the pretensions of the United States in the late contro- 
versy ; and as making a merit of that opposition in the eyes of a foreign 
government. 

After a full discussion on this nomination, with closed doors, the senate 
finally, by the casting vote of the vice-president, resolved not to confirm 
the nomination, yeas 23, nays 23. Mr. Van Buren was accordingly re- 
jected, and, soon after having presented his credentials, was compelled to 
return to the United States. 

As this was the first time that a minister of the United States had been 
compelled to return from his post, on account of the refusal of the senate 
to concur in his appointment, great excitement was produced by this de- 
cision. The reasons assigned were subjected to severe criticism, and the 
rejection was by many imputed to party feeling and personal jealousy. 

The friends of the president were urged to sustain him against an 
attack, which it was said was aimed at him. He was induced to come 
before the public, and avow himself to be the author of the objectionable 
instructions ; and his party was persuaded to bring forward Mr. Van Bu- 
ren as a candidate for the vice-presidency, as the only means of vindica- 
ting the honor of the president from a censure which, by his own confes- 
sion, ought to have been bestowed upon him. It was also urged, that if 
the senate had been sincere in asserting that the character of those in- 
structions was a disqualification for a diplomatic ofiice, Mr. M'Lane would 
have shared the same fate with Mr. Van Buren. If the instructing a 
minister to invite a foreign government to interfere in the domestic politics 
of the United States, furnished a sufficient reason why the author should 
not represent the republic abroad, surely the execution of those instructions 
ought to have excluded that minister from the cabinet councils, where 
measures to vindicate the honor and advance the interests of the country 
are originated. 

In the contest that ensued, consequently, the opposition lost the advan- 
tage of the principle upon which it had rested, the recall of Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, and left the public to infer that other motives had contributed to swell 
the vote against his appointment.* 

Among the most urgent subjects of consideration at the present session 
of Congress, was the apportionment of representation according to the 
census of 1830. By that census, the southern and eastern states had lost 
a portion of their relative weight, and the western states had acquired a 
greater preponderance than before. With the view of giving each state 
the power intended by the constitution, at the next presidential election, 
steps were taken to bring this subject at an early day before the considera- 
tion of the house, and on the fourth of January, Mr. Polk, from a select 
committee, reported a bill fixing the ratio of representation under the fifth 
• American Annual Register, 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 331 

census of the United States. By that report the ratio was fixed at one 
representative for forty-eight thousand inhabitants, according to the federal 
enumeration, which would increase the number of members to 237. This 
ratio was at first adopted by the house, after a long debate, but afterward 
stricken out, and the number fixed at forty-seven thousand seven hun- 
dred, in which form the bill finally passed, and became a law in May, 
1832. The senate amended the bill, and sent it back to the house, but 
the house disagreed to the amendment, and the senate receded therefrom. 
By the census of 1790, the ratio fixed on was thirty-three thousand ; by 
that of 1800 the same ratio was continued ; in 1810 it was fixed at thirty- 
five thousand ; in 1820, forty thousand ; and by the census of 1830, forty- 
seven thousand seven hundred. 

Many subjects of great interest came under the consideration of Con- 
gress at this session ; and among them none excited more of the public 
attention than that of the renewal of the charter of the bank of the United 
States. That institution was incorporated, as wo have stated, in 1816, 
during Mr. Madison's administration, by a democratic Congress, for the 
term of twenty years ; of course, the charter would expire in 1836. In 
'the first message of General Jackson to Congress, namely, in 1829, he 
expressed an opinion against the constitutionality and expediency of the 
bank, and an assertion that it had failed in the great end of establishing a 
uniform and sound currency. As no intimation had been been given of an 
intention to apply for a renewal of the charter, and as no specific abuses 
were pointed out deserving examination, this intimation was regarded as 
an indication of a strong hostility against that institution, on the part of 
the president, originating in causes not open to the public eye. The 
message had the effect of diminishing the value of the stock six per cent, 
lower than before the opening of Congress. The subject, however, was 
referred to the committees on finance, and reports adverse to the presi- 
dent's views having been brought in, the stock recovered itself, and finally 
attained a higher rate than the original price. 

The attack was renewed in the next annual message, in 1830; and 
Congress was recommended to inquire into the expediency of renewing the 
charter of the existing bank, with the view of substituting in its place a 
bank based on the public deposites, but without the power of making 
loans, or purchasing property. This recommendation met with no better 
reception than that contained in the previous message. No steps were 
taken by either house upon the subject, at that session. The bank made 
no application to Congress, and when Mr. Benton asked for leave to in- 
troduce a resolution in the senate adverse to the renewal of the charter, 
that body refused permission by a vote of 23 nays to 20 ayes. The stock 
maintained its price in market, and in the message of the president at the 
opening of the twenty-second Congress, in December, 1831, his objections 
to the bank were expressed for the third time. 



332 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

The directors and stockholders of the bank now deemed it proper to 
submit the claims of the institution for an extension of its charter to Con- 
gress. A memorial to this effect was therefore presented, on the part of 
the bank of the Uaited States, and no sooner was this determinecl upon, 
than the friends of the president began to express their dissatisfaction at 
being forced to act upon the subject at this time. It was too early, they 
said, notwithstanding the president had not deemed it too early for Con- 
gress to act upon the matter two years before ; and they sought to post- 
pone the consideration of the question. This course was too inconsistent 
to succeed, and the memorial having been presented in the senate, on the 
9th of January, by Mr. Dallas, an administration senator from Pennsylva- 
nia, it was referred to a select committee for consideration. On the 13th 
of March this committee reported in favor of renewing the charter for fif- 
teen years, with certain modifications. A bill accompanied this report, which 
was ordered to a second reading, and then laid upon the table of the sen- 
ate, until after the report of the committee appointed by the house of rep- 
resentatives to inquire into the affairs of the bank. 

It was in that body that the main battle concerning the bank was to be 
fought. The memorial of the bank was presented by Mr. M'Dufllie, of 
South Carolina, and referred to the committee of ways and means, by 
whom, on the 10th of February, a report was made in favor of the re- 
newal of the charter. A motion was then made by the opponents of the 
bank for a committee of inquiry into the affairs of the bank. Two reports 
were made by this committee : one from the majority, adverse to the bank, 
and" another from the minority, favorable to the institution. 

On the 22d of May, the bill for a renewal of the charter was taken up 
in the senate, and after a long discussion and undergoing various amend- 
ments, the bill finally passed the senate, on the 11 th of June, by a vote of 
yeas 28, noes 20. When it came into the house, strenuous exertions were 
made to postpone its consideration, but it was made the special order of 
the day for the 18th of June. The house being then engaged on the 
tariff, it was not taken up until the 30th of June, and it finally passed that 
body on the 3d of July, by 107 yeas, to 85 nays ; and an amendment pro- 
posed by Mr. M'Dufiie, being concurred in by the senate, the bill was 
sent to the president for his decision. It was by many apprehended 
that he would resort to the mode previously adopted by him, and that he 
would retain it until after the adjournment of Congress. To prevent 
this, the senate declined acting on the resolution of adjournment until the 
bill had been sent to him for concurrence, and then the 16th of July was 
inserted, so as to leave him full ten days, exclusive of Sundays, by which 
he was compelled to return the bill to Congress, or to permit it to become 
a law. 

On the 10th of July, the next day after the senate had fixed the time of 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 333 

adjournment, the president sent a message to that body, stating his reasons 
for refusing his signature to the bill. 

This veto-message having been read, Mr. Webster moved that the senate 
should proceed to reconsider the bill the next day. At the appointed hour, the 
bill being again brought under the consideration of the senate, Mr. Webster 
reviewed the reasons and arguments of the executive at length, to which 
Mr. White, of Tennessee, replied ; and the discussion was continued un- 
til the 13th of July, when the question being taken on the passage of the 
bill, notwithstanding the objections of the president, the senate divided — 
yeas 22, nays 19 ; and the bill, not having received two thirds of the votes, 
"was of course rejected. 

The president's bank-veto message was circulated extensively through- 
out the Union, and proved a popular document in his favor in its effects on 
the public mind, wherever the bank was but little known, or in ill favor. 
Many of the political friends of the president, however, as well among the 
people, as in Congress, differed in opinion from him on the subject of the 
bank. In the state of Pennsylvania, where the bank was located, and 
where the institution was popular, the president's course was severely 
censured, and the strength of the administration so much diminished, as at 
one period to make its success doubtful. At a very large meeting of citi- 
zens of Philadelphia, composed of his former political friends, in July, 
1832, soon after the veto of the president, resolutions were adopted disap- 
proving of his course with regard to the bank and other public measures, 
and deprecating his re-election to the presidency as a national calamity, 
which they pledge themselves " to use all lawful and honorable means to 
avert, by opposing the re-election of Andrew Jackson." 

The subject of the public lands was another matter of importance which 
was agitated. The investigations which were ordered preliminary to 
modifying the tariff, afforded an occasion to urge an inquiry into the expe- 
diency of reducing the price of the public lands, as connected with the 
revenue. On the 22d of March, 1832, Mr. Bibb, of Kentucky, an admin- 
istration senator, moved a resolution to that effect, and the committee on 
manufactures in the senate was directed to make the inquiry. 

The course of the senate, in referring an inquiry on the subject of the 
public lands to that committee was considered singular and unusual, and it 
was charged by the opposition that the object was to embarrass Mr. Clay, 
of Kentucky, who was chairman of the committee of manufactures, and 
was also one of the opposition candidates for president of the United States. 
The public lands possessed by the United States, situated in the western 
states and territories, had been acquired by cessions to the general gov- 
ernment from the original Atlantic states ; by the purchase of Louisiana 
and Florida ; and by treaties of purchase with the Indians. The principal 
inducement to their' cession by the states to the Union, was, to aid in the 
payment of the debt incurred by the war of the revolution, for which they 



S34 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

were at first pledged. In view of the ultimate payment of that debt, Presi- 
dent Jefferson had, in 1806, suggested the appropriation of the proceeds of 
the sales of the lands to works of internal improvement, and to the support 
of education. 

The inquiries which the committee on manufactures were directed by 
the senate to make and report upon were — 1. The expediency of reducing 
the price of the public lands ; and, 2. On the expediency of transferring 
the public territory to the states within which it lies, upon reasonable 
terms. On the 16th of April, Mr. Clay made a report against the expe- 
diency of both these propositions. This report vindicates the wisdom of 
the policy heretofore adopted by the government ; but inasmuch as the rev- 
enue derived from imposts was deemed adequate to the public expendi- 
tures, and as some dissatisfaction prevailed in the new states at the ex- 
emption of the lands belonging to the United States from taxation, until 
five years after they had been sold, it recommends that, besides the five 
per cent, hitherto reserved from the proceeds of the public lands for ma- 
king internal improvements, ten per cent, in addition should be reserved 
for internal improvements within the limits of the respective states. 

The residue of the proceeds a majority of the committee recommended 
to be divided among all the states, in proportion to their representation in 
Congress, to be applied, under the direction and at the discretion of the 
state governments, to education, internal improvement, colonization, or to 
the payment of any debt already contracted for internal improvement. 

In order to test the propriety of this modification of the existing system 
by experience, the act accompanying the report was limited to five years ; 
and in case the United States should within that time become involved in 
war with a foreign power, the appropriation was to cease immediately. 
The bill passed the senate, after considerable debate, near the close of the 
session, by a vote of 26 to 18, and was sent to the house for concurrence, 
where the further consideration of the subject was postponed until the next 
session of Congress. 

The subject of internal improvement was discussed at length during this 
session. The members from the south, and the supporters of the admin- 
istration from the eastern states and from New York, were decidedly op- 
posed to appropriations of this character ; and a systematic effort was gen- 
erally made by them to defeat the bill introduced making appropriations 
for that object, including the improvement of certain rivers and harbors, 
the Cumberland and other roads, surveys, &c. The bill finally passed 
both houses, and having received the sanction of the president, became a 
law; By the act, as amended in its passage, various appropriations were 
made for works not enumerated : it having been extended by these amend- 
ments to an amount exceeding one million two hundred thousand dollars, 
and altogether beyond its original scope — adding thus an additional sanction 
to the policy of internal improvement. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 335 

The other appropriations for internal improvement were contained in a 
bill for the improvement of certain harbors and rivers, which was not taken 
up in the house until the 25th of May. Certain amendments were then 
made ; and on the 1st of June, a motion by Mr. Polk, of Tennessee, to 
strike out the enacting clause, was lost — yeas 72, nays 101 — and the bill 
finally passed, 95 to 67. In the senate, it was taken up on the 3d of July, 
and in the course of the discussion which ensued, Mr. Clay " expressed 
his extreme surprise that the president, after putting his veto on the ap- 
propriations for works of such public utility as the Maysville and Rock- 
ville roads, should have sanctioned the internal improvement bill in which 
appropriations were made to a very large amount, and which differed in 
principle not one particle from the one he had rejected. What had been 
the course of the present administration ? They first held appropriations 
for certain objects of internal improvement to be unconstitutional, and 
then sanctioned appropriations for other objects depending entirely on the 
same principles with those held to be unconstitutional ; and the result has 
been to open an entire new field of internal improvement. Favorite ob- 
jects had been considered constitutional, while objects in states not so 
much cherished, had been held to be local." Mr. Miller, of South Caro- 
lina, said : " We have just heard that the president has signed the inter- 
nal improvement bill, containing appropriations for the most limited and 
local purposes. I liope we shall never again be referred to the veto of 
the IMaysville and Rockville roads, as a security against this system. The 
senate and house of representatives, and the president, all concur in this 
power." 

The harbor bill, as it was called, passed the senate, and was sent to the 
president for his approbation, on the 13th of July, three days before the 
close of the session. This bill which did not differ in principle from the 
internal improvement bill which he had signed, the president resolved not 
to sanction, but retained the bill until after the adjournment of Congress, 
and thus prevented it from becoming a law. 

The same course was adopted by the president, in relation to a bill 
providing for the repayment to the respective states of all interest actually 
paid, for moneys borrowed by them on account of the federal government, 
and expended in the service of the United States. This bill was passed 
by both houses at this session, but when it came into the hands of the 
president, it was doomed to the fate of the harbor bill, and was negatived 
in this novel and indirect manner, to which the opposition gave the name 
of •' a pocket veto." 

The president having, in his annual message, recommended a modifica- 
tion of the tariff of duties on imports, the subject was referred to the com- 
mittee on manufactures, which, as well as the committee of ways and 
means, had been selected by the speaker (who was hostile to the protec- 
tive system) with a view to a reduction of the tariff. Mr. John Quincy 



336 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

Adams was placed at the head of the committee on manufactures, which, 
on the 23d of May, reported a new tariff bill. Mr. M'Duffie, chairman of 
the committee of ways and means, had, at an earlier period of the session, 
namely, on the 8th of February, reported a bill intended to meet the ultra 
opponents of the protective system, and the report which accompanied it 
denounced the tariff system as imposing a tax upon the south for the ben- 
efit of the north. The secretary of the treasury, Mr. M'Lane, on the 27th 
of April, also transmitted to Congress, in compliance with a resolution of 
the house, a bill for a reduction of the tariff, with a report giving his views 
on this topic. 

Before the report of the secretary was printed, Mr. M'Duffie brought on 
the discussion of the bill reported by him. On the 1st of June a motion 
was made to strike out the first section, which was carried — 81 yeas to 
41 nays. 

Mr. Adams's bill was then taken up, and after a long and animated dis- 
cussion, it passed the house, with few amendments, by 132 yeas to 65 
nays, many of the opponents of protection voting in the affirmative. The 
bill finally passed the senate on the 9th of July, yeas 32, nays 16, and 
receiving the sanction of the president, became a law. 

This act provided for a great reduction of the revenue, and for no small 
diminution of the duties on the protected articles of domestic manufacture, 
but it was a direct admission of the principle of protection, and it was so 
regarded by all parties. It was, however, a great concession on the part 
of the friends of the protective system, to the advocates of " free trade," 
and as such, a general expectation prevailed that it would be received by 
the dominant party in South Carolina, and that a temporary calm at least 
would succeed the agitation upon this exciting topic. 

Different views, it appeared, were entertained by the leaders of that 
party, and the very day after the passage of this act, the representatives 
of South Carolina, who thought nullification the rightful remedy, met at 
Washington, and published an address to the people of South Carolina on 
the subject of the tariff. In that address they assert, that in the act just 
passed the duties upon the protected articles w§re augmented, while the 
diminution was made only in the duties upon the unprotected articles ; that 
in this manner the burden of supporting the government was thrown ex- 
clusively on the southern states, and the other states gained more than 
they lost by the operations of the revenue system.* 

The address concludes thus : " They will not pretend to suggest the ap- 
propriate remedy, but after expressing their solemn and deliberate convic- 
tion that the protecting system must now be regarded as the settled policy 
of the country, and that all hope of relief from Congress is irrecoverably 
gone, they leave it with you, the sovereign power of the state, to deter- 
mine whether the rights and liberties which you received as a precious 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 337 

inheritance from an illustrious ancestry, shall be tamely surrendered with- 
out a struggle, or transmitted undiminished to your posterity." 

Meetings were accordingly held in South Carolina, denouncing the 
tarifl', which had just received the sanction of Congress, and pledging the 
persons attending to support the state government in any measures it 
might adopt to resist it. Strong efforts were made to excite the people 
of the state against the general government, and notwithstanding the exer- 
tions of a respectable portion of the community, who remained faithful to 
the Union, they succeeded in obtaining a majority in both houses of the 
legislature. 

As soon as this was ascertained. Governor Hamilton convened the 
legislature, which met at Columbia, on the 22d of October, 1832. Imme- 
diately upon its assembling, the tariff question was taken up, and a bill 
was reported authorizing a convention to meet at Columbia on the 19th of 
next month. This bill finally passed on the 25th of October, in the sen- 
ate, 31 to 13, and in the house, 96 to 25. 

The state convention met at the time appointed, and the governor was 
elected president of that body. The annual meeting of Congress was at 
hand, and if any impression was to be made upon that body, it could only 
be done by prompt and decisive movements. Upon the people of the Uni- 
ted States generally no impression could be made. A general sentiment 
pervaded the Union, that it was better to appeal to the power of the gov- 
ernment to enforce the laws, than longer to encourage a spirit of insubor- 
dination by yielding to demands which, originating in a feeling of arro- 
gance, were rendered more unreasonable by concession. Still, however, 
all hasty movements were deprecated, and so long as the nuUifiers con- 
fined themselves to discussions and resolves, any interference on the part 
of the general government would have been deemed improper. Nothing 
but actual resistance to the laws of the United States could justify such 
interposition. The time of forbearance, however, was now rapidly passing 
away. 

The committee of the convention, to whom was intrusted the duty of 
reporting what steps should be taken, recommended the passage of an ordi- 
nance, which declared all the acts of Congress imposing duties on imported 
goods, and more especially the laws of May 19, 1828, and July 14, 1832, to 
be null and void within the state of South Carolina. It further provided, that 
no appeal should be permitted to the supreme court of the United States in 
any question concerning the validity of the ordinance, or of the laws passed 
to give effect thereto. It also prohibited the authorities of the state, or of the 
United States, from enforcing the payment of duties within the state, from and 
after the 1st of February, 1833. There were various other provisions in this 
ordinance, which concluded with a declaration that any attempt on the part 
of the general government to reduce the state to obedience, or to enforce the 

revenue laws, otherwise than through the civil tribunals, would be deemed 
22 



338 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

inconsistent with the longer continuance of South Carohna in the Union, 
and that the people of the state would forthwith proceed to organize a sep- 
arate and independent government. By this ordinance, the Rubicon was 
passed, and the state government forthwith proceeded to take the neces- 
sary steps to carry it into effect. 

The legislature, which met directly after the adjournment of the con- 
vention, on the 27th of November, 1832, passed the laws required by the 
ordinance. These related principally to the nullification of the revenue 
laws of the United States, by prohibiting their enforcement within the 
state. An additional act was passed, authorizing the governor to call the 
militia into service to resist any attempt on the part of the government of 
the United States to enforce the revenue laws ; and to render the resist- 
ance of the state effectual, he was empowered to call out the whole mili- 
tary force of the state, and to accept of the services of volunteers for the 
same purpose. Ten thousand stand of small arms, and the requisite 
quantity of military munitions, were ordered to be purchased, and any acts 
done in pursuance of that law, were to be held lawful in the state courts. 
These proceedings by the party that had obtained possession of the 
state government, brought on an issue between the state and federal gOA'- 
ernments, that could no longer be neglected. The very existence of the 
government depended upon its decision. South Carolina had set at defi- 
ance the authority of the general government, and declared that no umpire 
should be admitted to decide between the contending parties. 

It had, in its capacity as a sovereign state, decided the question for 
itself, and its decision could be reversed only by superior force. In taking 
this stand, the nullifiers apparently had not perceived, that, although their 
principles were precisely those which Georgia had carried into effect in 
her affairs with the Indians, the subject-matter more directly affected the 
existence of the government. Five sixths of the revenue were derived 
from the customs, and the abolition of the duties in one state, would ne- 
cessarily destroy the revenue system, and of course suspend the opera- 
tions of the federal government. While the nullification of Georgia only 
tended to bring the federal government into contempt, and weakened the 
bonds of the Union, that of South Carolina at once severed those bonds, 
and arrested the action of the government. 

At such a crisis, the president felt that there was no room for hesitation. 
The diflniculty must be met, not only to save the Union from being broken 
up, but to protect those citizens of South Carolina who still adhered to its 
standard, from the horrors of civil discord. The president determined to 
come at once to an issue with the nullifiers ; to place the powers of the 
government upon the broad ground, that the federal judiciary was the only 
proper tribunal to decide upon the constitutionality of its laws ; and to en- 
force the revenue acts with an entire disregard to the pretended rights of 
sovereignty which were assumed by the state of South Carolina. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 339 

With that view, all the disposable military force was ordered to assem- 
ble at Charleston, and a sloop-of-war was sent to that port to protect the 
federal officers, in case of necessity, in the execution of their duty. On 
the 10th of December, the eloquent and energetic proclamation of the 
president was issued, plainly and forcibly stating the nature of the Ameri- 
can government, and the supremacy of the federal authorities in all mat- 
ters intrusted to their care, and exhorting the citizens of South Carolina 
not to persist in a course which must bring upon their state the force of 
the confederacy, and expose the Union to the hazard of dissolution.* 

In noticing the events of this momentous period, we must return to the 
doings of the twenty-second Congress at their first session. In addition 
to the acts already mentioned, laws were passed for the adjustment of the 
claims of South Carolina against the Unhed States ; to provide the means 
of extending the benefits of vaccination to the Indian tribes ; a new patent 
law for the encouragement of useful inventions, by which the rights and 
privileges of patentees were greatly improved and extended. An addi- 
tional pension law was passed, by which provision was made for all those 
who had served in the war of the revolution six months ; and thus a great 
number of persons in the decline of life, and most of them in reduced cir- 
cumstances, received the bounty of the government, who could not avail 
themselves of the former laws granting pensions. 

Some difficulties occurred with the Indian tribes on the northwestern 
frontier of the United States during the year 1832. A treaty had been 
made in 1830 with the Sacs and Foxes, by which they agreed to cede 
their lands to the United States, and to remove beyond the Mississippi. 
As they did not promptly comply with the treaty, and one band, under a 
noted chief named Black Hawk, evinced a determination to maintain pos- 
session of their old village, John Reynolds, governor of Illinois, chose to 
construe their continued residence in the ceded territory as an invasion of 
the state ; and, under his authority to protect the state from invasion, he 
ordered out seven hundred militia to remove the Indians beyond the Mis- 
sissippi, according to the treaty. 

This interference with the peculiar duties of the federal government 
compelled the officer commanding the United States troops in that quarter 
to co-operate with him, in order to prevent a collision between the state 
militia and the Indians. Overawed by the imposing force brought against 
them, they, yielded to necessity, and crossed the Mississippi ; but gather- 
ing strength on the western bank of the river, and exasperated at the 
harsh treatment they had received. Black Hawk and his party resolved on 
commencing a predatory war on the frontier settlements. In the month 
of March, 1832, Black Hawk assembled a band of Sacs and Foxes, which, 
united with the Winnebagoes, under the control of their prophet, were 
about one thousand in number, and crossed the Mississippi in a hostile 
• American Annual Register 



340 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

manner. They afterward annoyed the people in the mining district of 
Wisconsin, and murdered a number of defenceless families. The alarm 
became general on the frontier, and many settlers fled from their farms. 
The militia were called out, and, joined with about four hundred United 
States regular troops under the command of General Atkinson, pursued the 
Indians ; and after a campaign of about two months, during which two en- 
gagements were fought, and the Indians lost over two hundred men killed, 
the war was brought to an end. Black Hawk was taken prisoner by a 
party of friendly Indians, and he, with the prophet and other leaders, was 
taken by order of the government through the principal cities and towns 
on the seaboard, to show them the power of the United States, after which 
they gave no further trouble. Treaties were made with the offending 
tribes, by which they agreed to compensate for the expense of the war by 
a cession of a valuable part of their territory, and to immediately remove 
to the west bank of the Mississippi. The United States stipulated to pay 
thirty thousand dollars annually to the three tribes for twenty-seven years, 
and other provisions were made for their improvement and civilization. 

While these troubles occurred on the northwestern frontier, the inhab- 
itants of Maine, on the northeastern border of the United States, were ex- 
cited by an unpleasant collision arising out of the award of the king of the 
Netherlands concerning the boundary line between the United States and 
the British provinces. In conformity with the treaty of Ghent, the dis- 
puted boundary between the territory of the United States and that of 
Great Britain, on the northeastern frontier, was in 1829 submitted to the 
arbitration of the king of the Netherlands, who, in January, 1831, gave his 
decision. In this award, however, the king did not undertake to decide 
the question submitted to him, but recommended a new boundary not con- 
templated by either party. Against this decision the American minister 
at the Hague immediately protested, as being beyond the authority of the 
arbiter : he having decided upon questions not submitted to him, and left 
undecided the questions in dispute. The British government, having 
gained the principal object for which it contended, namely, an uninter- 
rupted communication between its provinces, signified its willingness to 
carry the award into effect. 

The state of Maine, on its part, protested against the award as invalid, 
and denied the authority of the federal government to cede any portion of 
the territory of a state, by treaty or convention. In this unsettled state 
the controversy remained ; when in September, 1831, the inhabitants of 
Madawaska, on the disputed territory, in conformity with a law of the 
state of Maine, passed at the last session of the legislature, met and elect- 
ed a representative to the general assembly of that state. Upon hearing 
this, the British provincial authorities sent a military force and arrested 
three persons who had taken part in the town meeting, and carried them 
to the province jail for trial. Here they were tried, and sentenced to 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 341 

three raonlhs' imprisonment. This act excited great indignation among 
the people of Maine. The governor and council took measures to protect 
the territory from invasion ; and a remonstrance against the provincial pro- 
ceedings being made by the secretary of state to the British minister at 
Washington, the release of the prisoners wan obtained. 

In this state of things a negotiation was commenced by the administra- 
tion of the general government with the state of Maine, with the view of 
obtaining its consent to the cession of the territory in dispute ; and William 
P. Preble was appointed an agent on the part of the state, to arrange the 
terms upon which Maine would consent to the execution of the treaty. 
After some negotiation, Mr. Preble addressed a letter to the governor of 
Maine, advising the state to cede to the United States her claim to the 
territory beyond the boundary line recommended by the arbiter, for an 
ample indemnity. The motive to this advice was not communicated to 
the public, nor was any information given as to what indemnity was ex- 
pected ; but a confidential message was transmitted by Governor Smith to 
the legislature, informing that body of the advice of his agent, and stating 
his belief that an adequate compensation would be made by the United 
States for the loss of territory. As this belief was founded upon a secret 
arrangement between the agent and the United States government, the 
terms were not communicated to the legislature ; but enough was stated 
to leading members of the administration party, who were in the majority 
in both branches of that body, to secure the passage of resolutions in favor 
of a treaty between the state and the United States, in relation to the cession. 
This treaty, however, was not to be binding upon the state, until it had 
been formally ratified by the legislature ; and the resolutions were directed 
to be sent to the governor of Massachusetts, in order that measures might 
be taken by that state for the protection of her interests in the ceded ter- 
ritory, the soil being equally claimed by the two states. 

The course of the government of Maine, in refusing to furnish copies 
of the correspondence of the agent with the governor, in relation to the 
disputed territory, on the ground that most of the same was private and 
confidential, was not well calculated to insure the confidence of her sister 
state, and nothing was done by Massachusetts to sanction an arrangement, 
the terms of which they were not permitted to know. 

When the subject was submitted to the senate of the United States, 
with the accompanying documents, that body, in January, 1832, after dis- 
cussing and rejecting several propositions, by a vote of 23 to 22, advised 
the president to open a new negotiation for the adjustment of the 
boundary.* 

The operation of the commercial arrangement with Great Britain, men- 
tioned in the preceding pages, made by the administration soon after com- 
ing into power, respecting the intercourse between the United States and 
• American Annual Register. 



342 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

the British West Indies, proved less favorable to American interests than 
had been anticipated by its advocates. The result was, that while the in- 
terests of the navigation and colonies of England were secured, and the 
British government reserved the right to impose discriminating duties, with 
the view of encouraging importations through the northern colonies, the 
president, in the exercise of a power conferred upon him by Congress, 
repealed the laws which were imposed to counteract the partial commer- 
cial regulations of England ; and the navigation of the United States was 
exposed without protection, to a competition with British vessels, which 
were favored by heavy discriminating duties. This competition was upon 
too unfavorable a footing to continue, and the American shipping was soon 
almost totally excluded from a trade which this very arrangement was in- 
tended to secure. 

With the exception of the disadvantages to the United States, attending 
the above arrangement, the foreign relations of the country were conducted 
with ability as well as energy, by the administration of General Jackson. 
In the course of the year 1831, treaties were concluded and ratified with 
the republic of Mexico — one relating to the boundaries between the two 
countries, and the other to commerce and navigation. Mr. Rives, our 
minister to France, also concluded a treaty between the United States 
and the king of the French, which was signed at Paris in July, 1831, on 
the subject of claims for depredations committed on American commerce, 
under the government of the directory, the first consul, and the emperor. 
Negotiations for this purpose had been long continued, by various ministers 
from the United States, but no satisfactory terms had been definitely settled. 
The French government had set up an opposing claim, on account of the 
non-fulfilment of a treaty made in 1778, between the United States and 
the king of France, for the assistance of the former to defend the West 
India islands of the latter, if attacked by the British. The American gov- 
ernment contended that they were exonerated of all such demands by 
France, by subsequent events. The change in the French government, 
by the revolution of 1830, enabled Mr. Rives to bring the long-pending 
negotiations to a close. By this treaty the French government agreed to 
pay to the United States, in complete satisfaction of all claims of Ameri- 
can citizens for depredations on their commerce, twenty-five millions of 
francs, or nearly five millions of dollars, in six equal annual instalments. 
One and a half million of francs were to be allowed by the American gov- 
ernment to France, or French citizens, for ancient supplies, accounts, or 
other claims. An additional article was inserted, by which the United 
States engaged to reduce the duties on French wines for ten years, in 
consideration of which stipulation France agreed to reduce the duties on 
the long staple cotlon of the United States to the same rate as on short 
staple cotton, and to abandon all claims for indemnity under the Louisiana 
treaty. The sum thus stipulated to be paid by France, did not amount to 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. . 343 

more than one third of the just claims of the citizens of the United States, 
but their liquidation, even upon terms comparatively unfavorable, was so 
desirable, that the conclusion of this treaty was hailed with universal sat- 
isfaction by all parties. After deliberate consideration, it was sanctioned 
by the senate ; but the French chamber of deputies refused to make the 
appropriation to carry the treaty into eflect, and the delay furnished occa- 
sion for an unpleasant dispute between the two countries, which was not 
terminated until the final settlement of the affair, in 1836. 

A treaty of commerce and navigation was also negotiated at Washing- 
ton, in August, 1829, between the United States and the emperor of Aus- 
tria, Mr. Van Buren, secretary of state, acting on the part of the United 
States, and Baron de Lederer on the part of Austria. This treaty was 
ratified and concluded in February, 1831. The treaty with the Ottomaa 
Porte (Turkey), already referred to, negotiated in 1830, was ratified by 
the president and senate in February, 1831, and articles exchanged at 
Constantinople in October, 1831, between Commodore David Porter, 
charge d'afi^aires of the United States, and the Reis Eflendi of the Porte. 
A convention between the United States and Naples, or the kingdom of the 
Two Sicilies, was negotiated at Naples in October, 1832, by Mr. John 
Nelson, charge d'affaires on the part of the United States, and the secre- 
tary of state, prince of Cassaro, on the part of the king of Naples, by 
which the amount of $1,720,000 was stipulated to be paid to the United 
States as an indemnity for claims of our citizens for depredations on 
American commerce by Murat, while king of Naples, from 1809 to 1812. 
These claims had been considered almost hopeless ; but the appearance 
of a considerable American naval force in the harbor of Naples, doubtless 
expedited the settlement. 

Thus the administration of General Jackson had been eminently suc- 
cessful in the management of our foreign affairs, and the negotiation 
of numerous treaties contributed largely to sustain the popularity of the 
president, tending also to insure his re-election. Nor was the nation less 
prosperous at home than the government fortunate abroad. Abundant hai- 
vests rewarded the labor of the farmer, and imparted activity to commerce ; 
while the rapid extension of the manufacturing interest gave employment 
to thousands, whose industry would have been unprofitably devoted to ag- 
riculture, and furnished a home market for the productions of the soil. The 
domestic policy pursued by the two preceding administrations was now 
beginning to produce the effects anticipated ; while the prosperity of the 
country at the close of President Jackson's first term, it was insisted by 
his supporters, was owing to the policy of his administration. 

The tone of the government toward foreign nations during General 
Jackson's administration was moderate but firm, and the honor and inter- 
est of the country were maintained in a manner indicative both of spirit 
and ability. Among other questions that arose during the year 1831 was 



344 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

one relating to the Falkland islands, which have been often the fniitful 
source of controversy between civilized nations, and now produced a col- 
lision between the United States and Buenos Ayres. 

These islands had been leased by the government of Buenos Ayres, to 
a foreigner named Don Ijouis Vernet, who undertook to compel sealing 
vessels to take out licenses to take seals under his authority. Having 
captured three American vessels, and committed other outrages, when the 
news arrived in the United States, the president, always prompt to act in 
vindication of the rights of the nation against foreign aggression, de- 
spatched a competent force to protect our sealers in the neighborhood of 
Cape Horn. Captain Duncan, in the ship-of-war Lexington, had charge 
of the expedition. On his arrival at the Falkland islands, in December, 
1831, he broke up the establishment of Vernet, restored the captured prop- 
erty to the owners, and transported seven of the most prominent actors to 
Buenos Ayres for trial. The Buenos Ayrean government affected great 
indignation at the manner in which the settlement had been treated, as it 
was under the protection of their flag, but they did not think proper to pur- 
sue the affair any further. 

Chastisement equally prompt was inflicted on the Malays of Quallah 
Battoo, for rf piratical attack on the ship Friendship, of Salem, part of the 
crew of which vessel they massacred, and it was deemed necessary to 
punish the offenders in a summary manner. Captain Downes, in the frigate 
Potomac, was therefore ordered to proceed to Sumatra for the purpose, and 
arrived at that island in February, 1832. The Malay forts, five in number, 
were stormed, and after a short resistance by the Malays, of whom be- 
tween 80 and 100 were killed, and a large number wounded ; the town 
was fired, and the forts destroyed. The contest lasted nearly three hours, 
and the American loss was 3 killed and 10 Avounded. 

This chastisement left a salutary impression on the minds of these pi- 
ratical tribes, and the neighboring rajahs sent deputations to Captain 
Downes, assuring him of their friendly disposition toward the United 
States, and expressing their desire to obtain the friendship of the Amer- 
icans. 

The first presidential term of General Jackson was now drawing to a 
close, and parties arrayed themselves for the approaching election. We 
have already mentioned the meeting of the anti-masonic convention, in 
September, 1831, which nominated as candidate for president, William 
Wirt, and for vice-president, x\mos Ellmaker. The national republican 
convention met at Baltimore in December, 1831, and nominated Henry 
Clay, of Kentucky, for president, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, for 
vice-president. In May, 1832, a numerous convention of delegates of the 
administration party met also at Baltimore, for the purpose of nominating 
a candidate for vice-president, to be placed on the ticket with General 
Jackson, to whose nomination for re-election no dissent was manifested in 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 345 

the administration ranks. Martin "Van Buren, of New York, was, with 
great unanimit\% nominated for vice-president. The friends of the presi- 
dent insisted that he was personally dishonored by the rejection of Mr. 
Van Buren as minister to England ; and that it was incumbent on his sup- 
porters to convince the world that he had not lost the confidence of his 
countrymen, by electing Mr. Van Buren to preside over the body which 
had declared that he was unworthy to represent the countrv at the British 
court. 

This mode of reasoning prevailed, and, notwithstanding the objections 
of a few delegates from states where Mr. Van Buren was unpopular, he 
received the nomination of the administration party, for vice-president. 

The friends of Mr. Calhoun were entirely alienated from the adminis- 
tration by this nomination, and, although the ultra state-rights and nullify- 
ing doctrines espoused by his adherents prevented them from joining the 
opposition in their support of Mr. Clay, it was soon understood that the presi- 
dent had lost their confidence, and would not receive their suffrages. The 
character of the contest, however, effectually precluded them from openly 
lending their aid to overthrow the administration. It was a contest in re- 
lation to the powers of the federal government, although, from the cautious 
and ambiguous manner in which the opinions of the executive were promul- 
gated, the true nature of the question at issue was not fully understood by 
the people in certain portions of the Union. Even where it was so un- 
derstood, no deep universal conviction prevailed that the result of this elec- 
tion would be decisive as to the power of the federal government. Many 
hoped, from the strong personal enmity manifested toward xMr. Calhoun, 
that the president would finally be brought to oppose doctrines, of which 
that gentleman was now considered the chief advocate ; and the experi- 
ence of a few years had furnished ample proof, that he would not be de- 
terred from taking that step by any apprehension of a charge of inconsis- 
tency. The further development of the views of the dominant party, in 
South Carolina too, now began to excite great fears of a premeditated de- 
sign to dissolve the Union ; and it was supposed, that while on one hand 
the inclination toward anti-federal doctrines previously shown by the pres- 
ident, would prevent the disaffection from extending itself to the other 
southern states ; on the other, that the energetic manner in which he ex- 
ecuted his decisions would completely put down the dangerous heresy of 
nullification, and in the end strengthen the general government. 

The apprehension that the re-election of General Jackson would tend 
to unsettle the government, consequently did not operate upon the mass 
of the voters to the same extent as upon the leaders of the opposition. 

They were governed by the more obvious considerations growing out of 
the pressing question of nullification on the part of South Carolina ; and as 
he had declared himself opposed to the pretensions of that state, the dis- 
tant dangers to be apprehended from the effect of the principles advocated 



346 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

by the president in the Georgia controversy were by many disregarded. 
Even among the ipass of those who professed to be governed by a desire 
to preserve the constitution from destruction, there was a want of that un- 
tiring energy and self-devotion which flow from a deep conviction of the 
importance of a cause. An unwillingness to postpone plans of personal 
advancement, or to sacrifice individual prejudices and private views to the 
good of the cause, too much characterized the opposition to the adminis- 
tration. Its members, professing great independence of character, were 
too apt to forget, that when combined effort is required, individual will 
must give way, and the plans of the party were constantly thwarted by the 
refusal of its members to unite upon a single candidate.* 

The anti-masons professed an equal dislike with the national republi- 
cans to the principles and policy of the administration, and both parties 
declared themselves ready to combine to defeat the election of General 
Jackson. Neither, however, were willing to yield to what they called the 
dictation of the other. 

Anti-masonic electoral tickets were formed in the states of Vermont, 
Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York. New Jersey, and 
Pennsylvania. The national republicans adopted the anti-masonic tickets 
in New York and Pennsylvania, but in the other states named, and the 
remaining states of the Union, with the exception of three or four south- 
ern states, tickets were nominated favorable to Mr. Clay for the presiden- 
cy. In Ohio the anti-masonic ticket for electors first nominated was with- 
drawn, and the contest in that state was between Jackson and Clay. 

While the two divisions of the opposition were prevented from coales- 
cing, by what they regarded as insuperable obstacles, excepting the imper- 
fect union effected in the three states named, the friends of the administra- 
tion united in its support with a zeal and earnestness which both deserved 
and insured success. Local divisions were done away ; personal diffi- 
culties adjusted, and private quarrels forgotten, in the general desire to 
promote the triumph of the party. The people at large, witnessing on 
one side so much party devotion, and on the other so much of the opposite 
quality, were led to regard the cause of the administration with more 
favor than it would have obtained upon a mere view of its principles and 
policy. 

Although the elections for state officers in some of the states, in the 
autumn of 1832, were either favorable to the opposition, or, from the small 
majorities given in favor of the administration, they indicated a close con- 
test at the approaching presidential election, the result of the latter was 
a complete triumph of the electoral tickets pledged to Jackson and Van 
Buren. 

The great military services of General Jackson had gained for him 
general popularity, and many who did not altogether approve of his meas- 
* American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 347 

lires, attributed his errors to mistaken views. His honesty of purpose 
was questioned by comparatively few, and all admired the boldness and 
firmness with which he pursued those measures that had been adopted 
and avowed as the policy of his administration. 

He was styled, too, the representative of the democratic party, and the 
people were constantly assured that his sole object was to deprive the fed- 
eral government only of those powers which it had usurped, and to bring 
it within the limits prescribed by the constitution.* 

In the electoral colleges the votes for president stood as follows : An- 
drew Jackson 219, Henry Clay 49, John Floyd 11, William Wirt 7. For 
vice-president — Martin Van Buren 189, John Sergeant 49, William Wil- 
kins 30, Henry Lee 11, Amos Ellmaker 7. The votes for John Floyd 
and Henry Lee were given by the state of South Carolina. Pennsylva- 
nia refused to vote for Mr. Van Buren ; therefore Mr. Wilkins, one of the 
United States senators from that state, received the vote of the electors 
for vice-president. 

Comparing this election with that of 1828, it will be observed, that Gen- 
eral Jackson gained the votes of Maine (except one vote). New Hamp- 
shire, New Jersey, and part of New York, which were then given to Mr. 
Adams, while he now lost the votes of Kentucky and South Carolina, 
which he had received in 1828. The majority in the electoral colleges 
was not, however, a fair test of the measure of approbation bestowed upon 
his administration. Many of the states were carried by small majorities, 
and although the electoral votes were more than three to one in his favor, 
the aggregate popular vote cast for him was less than he obtained in 1828. 
In several of the states the proportion of the people who declined voting 
at the election of 1832, was sufficient to have changed the result, and the 
probability was strong, that if the opposition had been united on Judge 
M'Lean, he would have been elected. 

The large majority received by General Jackson in the electoral col- 
leges, however, was by him, and his supporters generally, construed into 
an unqualified approval by his countrymen of all his measures. Upon 
all points where his course had been questioned by his opponents, his re- 
election was urged as the final decision of the people, from which there 
was no appeal. 

The second session of the twenty-second Congress commenced on the 
4th of December, 1832, and continued until the expiration of their term, 
on the 3d of March, 1833. The president pro tern, of the senate, Mr. Taze- 
well, having resigned, the Hon. Hugh L. White, of Tennessee, was elected 
in his place. On the 28th of December, the vice-president of the United 
States, Hon. John C. Calhoun, resigned that office, and was elected a sen- 
ator from South Carolina, in place of Mr. Hayne, who had been chosen 
governor of the state. 

• American Annual Register. 



348 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON 

The secretary of the treasury, Mr. M'Lane, in his report to Congress, 
urged upon that body a reduction of duty to the revenue standard, and de- 
clared that " there was not the same necessity for high protecting duties 
as that which was consulted in our past legislation." 

It was now distinctly foreseen that the final contest relating to a pro- 
tecting tariff was about be decided. Upon distributing the various sub- 
jects recommended to the consideration of Congress, this was referred in 
the house, to the committee of ways and means, of which Mr. Verplanck, 
of New York, was chairman. 

Notwithstanding a new tariff had been adopted at the last session, after 
a lengthened discussion, and by large majorities, it was now determined 
to remodel the whole, to conciliate its opponents at the south, and on the 
27th of December, a bill was reported by the committee of ways and 
means, which was understood to embody the views of the administration. 
In the senate, also, the subject was taken up at an early period, and on 
the 13th of December, the chairman of the committee of finance presented 
a resolution calling on the secretary of the treasury for the plan and de- 
tails of a bill in conformity with his suggestions. After some debate as 
to the propriety of calling on a branch of the executive department for an 
opinion, instead of facts or information, the resolution was adopted. 

The bill reported in the house by Mr. Verplanck, proposed a diminution 
on all the protected articles, to take effect immediately, and a further dimi- 
nution on the 2d of March, 1834. By this bill, a great and immediate re- 
duction was contemplated upon the chief manufactures of the country, and 
a further reduction to the revenue standard in 1834. This would afford 
to the domestic manufacturer a protecting duty from 15 to 20 per cent., 
and with this advantage, the opponents of high duties argued that he 
should be content. On the other side, it was contended that the diminu- 
tion was too great, and that by suddenly bringing the duties down to the 
minimum point, the government would violate its faith with those who had 
been induced to embark in manufacturing, by the adoption of what was 
declared to be the settled policy of the country, and who would be ruined 
by a sudden and unexpected withdrawal of the protection they enjoyed. 

The bill of last session which was framed with the view of settling the 
question, had not yet been fairly tested, and it was insisted that such a 
vacillating course on the part of the government, was positive injustice 
to those who had vested their capital under the existing laws.* 

While the discussion on the bill was going on, new interest was im- 
parted to the subject by a message from the president to Congress, on the 
16th of January, communicating the South Carolina ordinance and nulli- 
fying laws, together with his own views as to what should be done under 
the existing state of affairs. Upon the message being read in the senate, 
Mr. Calhoun repelled, in the most earnest manner, the imputation of any 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 349 

hostile feeling or intentions against the Union, on the part of South Caro- 
lina. The state authorities, he asserted, had looked only to a judicial de- 
cision upon the question, until the concentration of the United State8 
troops at Charleston and Augusta had compelled them to make provision 
to defend themselves. 

The judiciary committee, to whom the message was referred, reported 
a bill .to enforce the collection of the revenue where any obstructions were 
offered to the officers employed in that duty. It vested full power in the 
president to employ the land and naval forces of the United States, if 
necessary, to carry the revenue laws into effect. 

After the bill was reported to the senate, Mr. Calhoun offered a series 
of resolutions, embodying his views and those who sustained the doctrines 
of nullification, with regard to the powers of the general government and 
the rights of the states. Mr. Grundy, of Tennessee, offered other resolu- 
tions as sxibstitutes for Mr. Calhoun's, and which set forth the views of 
the administration. The latter were not deemed, by a portion of the sen- 
ate, fully to set forth the character of the government, inasmuch as while 
they declare the several acts of Congress laying duties on imports to be 
constitutional, and deny the power of a single state to annul them or any 
other constitutional law, tacitly yield the whole doctrine of nullification, 
by the implied admission that any unconstitutional law may be judged 
of by the state in the last resort, and annulled by the same authority. 
With the view of having placed upon record his opinions upon that point, 
Mr. Clayton, of Delaware, an opposition senator, proposed a resolution, 
setting them forth, and declaring that " the senate will not fail, in the 
faithful discharge of its most solemn duty, to support the executive in the 
just administration of the government, and clothe it with all constitutional 
power necessary to the faithful execution of the laws and the preservation 
of the Union." 

The whole subject was now before Congress ; and the state legisla- 
tures, being generally in session, passed resolutions expressing their opin- 
ions as to the course which that body ought to adopt. 

In the legislatures of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Delaware, 
Tennessee, Indiana, and Missouri, the doctrines of nullification were en- 
tirely, disclaimed, as destructive to the constitution. Those of North 
Carolina and Alabama were no less explicit in condemning nulHfication, 
but they also expressed an opinion that the tariff was unconstitutional and 
inexpedient. 

The state of Georgia also reprobated the doctrine of nullification, as 
unconstitutienal, by a vote of 102 to 51 in her legislature ; but it de- 
nounced the tariff in decided terms, and proposed a convention of the 
states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 
Tennessee, and Mississippi, to devise measures to obtain relief from that 
system. ' 



350 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

The legislci-ture of Virginia assumed a more extraordinary ground. The 
subject was referred to a committee on federal relations, and a general dis- 
cussion was had on the powers of the government : and finally resolutions 
were passed, earnestly requesting South Carolina not to proceed further 
under the ordinance of their convention to reduce the import duties to a 
revenue standard, and declaring that the people of Virginia expect that 
the general government and the government of South Carolina will care- 
fully abstain from all acts calculated to disturb the tranquillity of the 
country. 

After further resolving that they adhere to the principles of the Virginia 
resolutions of 1798, but that they do not consider them as sanctioning the 
proceedings of South Carolina, or the president's proclamation, they pro- 
ceeded to appoint Benjamin W. Leigh, as a commissioner on the part of the 
state, to proceed to South Carolina, to communicate the resolutions of Vir- 
ginia, and to express their good-will to the people of that state, and their 
anxious solicitude for an accommodation between them and the general 
government. 

The state of New Hampshire expressed no opinion as to the doctrines 
of South Carolina, but the legislature passed resolutions in favor of redu- 
cing the tariff to the revenue standard. 

On the other hand, the legislatures of Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode 
Island, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, declared themselves to be opposed 
to any modification of the tariff. 

While the states were thus sustaining their respective views and inter- 
ests, Congress was slowly proceeding in the discussion of the questions 
belonging to the subject. In the house, the bill for reducing the tariff 
was subjected to an ordeal that threatened to prove fatal to its passage 
through that body. The discussion upon its general principles occupied 
the house for two weeks after its introduction, and was resumed from 
time to time, during the examination of its details, for the purpose of 
amendment ; and but little prospect appeared of bringing about any satis- 
factory termination of this long-disputed question.* 

The authorities of South Carolina, in the meantime, exerted themselves 
to increase the military force of the state. Munitions were provided, 
depots formed, and the militia in the nullifying districts were called upon 
to volunteer in her defence. On the other hand, ^the minority of the peo- 
ple, who called themselves the union party, were equally determined not 
to submit to the nullifying ordinance and laws, and prepared themselves 
with equal firmness and zeal to sustain the federal authorities. A spark 
was sufficient to kindle the flame of civil war, but fortunately no acci- 
dent occurred to bring about a collision. The revenue laws, under the 
protection of the forces of the general government, were carried into effect 
without any opposition by violence. No attempt was made to enforce the 
* American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 351 

laws under the ordinance of the state convention, and on the 31st of Jan- 
uary, at a meeting of the leading nullifiers at Charleston, after reiterating 
their determination to maintain their principles, and expressing their satis- 
faction at the proposition to modify the tariff, it was resolved that during 
the session of Congress, all collision be avoided between the state and fed- 
eral authorities, in the hope that the controversy might be satisfactorily 
adjusted. 

During these proceedings in South Carolina, the enforcing bill, provi- 
ding for the collection of duties, was pressed forward to a vote. It was, 
however, delayed in the senate, by a lengthened discussion, until the 20th 
of February, when it passed that body by a vote of 32 ayes ; Mr. Tyler, 
only, voting in the negative, the opponents of the bill generally having 
withdrawn. It also passed the house on the 28th of February, 150 to 35, 
and became a law. 

The tariff bill reported by Mr. Verplanck, and sustained by the friends 
of the administration, in the house of representatives, was delayed in that 
body until the 12th of February; when Mr. Clay, of the senate, appre- 
hending either the passage of that bill, which he considered would be de- 
structive to the manufacturing interests, or that Congress would adjourn, 
leaving the matter unsettled, and the country in danger of a civil war, intro- 
duced, pursuant to notice, a measure of compromise in the senate. This 
was a bill which had been prepared, after much consultation, for the per- 
manent adjustment of the tariff. It provided, that where the duties ex- 
ceeded 20 per cent., there should be one tenth part of the excess deducted 
after December 30, 1833, and one tenth each alternate year, until the 31st 
of December, 1841, when one half of the residue was to be deducted, and 
after the 30th of June, 1842, the duties on all goods were to be reduced to 
twenty per cent, on a home valuation, and were to be paid in cash. 

After Mr. Clay had stated that his views in introducing the bill were to 
preserve the protective tariff for a length of time, and to restore good feel- 
ings and tranquillity among the people, he explained the proposed measure 
and its probable operation. Mr. Calhoun expressed his approbation of the 
bill ; and it was discussed by various senators until the 23d of February, 
when it was ordered to a third reading. On the 25th, Mr. Clay stated 
that a bill identical in its provisions to the one before the senate, had just 
passed the house, and would probably be presented the next day to the 
senate for approval. The senate, on his motion, therefore adjourned. 

In the house of representatives, Mr. Verplanck's bill was taken up for 
discussion, when, on motion of Mr. Letcher, of Kentucky, it was recom- 
mitted, with instructions to report Mr. Clay's bill. The bill being referred 
to the committee, the substitute was agreed to, forthwith reported to the 
house, and the following day passed, by a vote of 119 to 85. In the sen- 
ate, after some further discussion, it passed, ayes 29, noes 16, and received 
the signature of the president on the 2d of March, 1833. 



352 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

The passage of this bill was regarded by all as a concession to South 
Carolina, and many considered it as sanctioning the ultimate triumph of 
the principles advanced by that state. 

The supporters of the bill who were friendly to the system of protec- 
tion insisted, on the contrary, that this was the only mode of preventing 
an entire and immediate destruction of the manufacturing interests. That 
the administration had a decided majority in the next Congress ; and if 
the question was not settled now, the manufacturers would be entirely at 
the mercy of their enemies. 

Those who looked to the ultimate results of this compromise, preferred 
to test, rather than to surrender, the powers of the government, and they 
strongly reprobated the idea of abandoning the policy of the government 
upon the demand of a single state. 

The leaders of the nullifying party, on their part, affected to regard the 
compromise as an unqualified triumph. The convention of South Caro- 
lina assembled at Columbia, at the call of the governor, on the 11th of 
March, and, deeming it expedient to consider the compromise tariff as sat- 
isfactory, they repealed the ordinance nullifying the revenue laws, and 
nullified the enforcing law. After this the tariff controversy in South 
Carolina ended. 

The bill providing for the distribution of the proceeds of the sales of 
the public lands among the states, was again introduced by Mr. Clay, at 
an early period of this session. After much discussion, it passed that 
body on the 25th of January, ayes 24, noes 20. It was not taken up in 
the house until the 1st of March, when, after being amended, it was 
passed, ayes 96, nays 40, and sent back to the senate. The amendment 
of the house was concurred in by the senate, 23 to 5. These votes indi- 
cated that two thirds of both houses were in favor of the policy proposed 
to be established by Mr. Clay's bill ; and if the president had returned the 
bill with his objections, it was understood that it would have become a 
law, notwithstanding the veto. 

This opportunity, however, was not given to them, as the president re- 
tained the bill until after the adjournment, which took place at the termi- 
nation of their constitutional term on the 3d of March, and thus prevented 
Congress from expressing its opinion upon his objections. The bill was 
thus defeated by the executive, who in this manner assumed an absolute 
instead of a qualified veto upon the acts of Congress, which was confided 
to him by the constitution.* The reason of the president for his course 
in this matter, as given to the next Congress, was want of time for a 
due consideration of this important measure. 

Among the subjects recommended by the president in his annual mes- 
sage in December, 1832, was the propriety of removing the public mon- 
eys from the United States bank. The secretary of the treasury, who had 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 353 

hitherto advocated the recharter of the bank, followed up the president's 
recommendation by the expression of his doubts as to their safety, if con- 
tinued in its custody. An agent appointed by the treasury to investigate 
the actual condition of the bank, shortly after made his report, and it ap- 
peared that this institution had an excess of funds of more than seven 
millions of dollars over its liabilities, besides its capital of $35,000,000. 

The president also recommended a sale of the stock of the bank be- 
longing to the United States. A proposition to that effect, reported 
by Mr. Polk from the committee of vi^ays and means in the house, was 
rejected on the first reading, 102 to 91. 

The subject of the public deposites was referred to the same committee, 
who, through Mr. Verplanck, made a report stating the situation of the 
bank. They consequently recommended a resolution, that the govern- 
ment deposites may, in the opinion of the house, be safely continued in 
the bank of the United States. This resolution was adopted by the house 
— ayes 109, noes 46. 

Appropriations were made at this session of Congress, for carrying on 
certain works before commenced, and the improvement of harbors and 
rivers, also for the Cumberland road, and certain territorial roads. Acts 
were also passed for improving the navigation of certain rivers in Florida 
and Michigan ; making provision for publishing the documentary history 
of the American revolution ; and sundry other laws of less general in- 
terest. 

At the close of the first term of President Jackson, the foreign relations 
of the United States, with the exception of France, were in a favorable 
position. The first instalment of the indemnity to be paid by the treaty 
with France, was drawn for, in a bill of exchange by the American gov- 
ernment, but the French chambers had not made any appropriation to 
meet it, and the bill was not accepted. This neglect was warmly resented 
by the president. Instructions were given to the American minister to 
urge upon the French government a prompt compliance with the treaty. 

With Russia a treaty of commerce was concluded in December, 1832, 
upon the principles of reciprocity. A similar treaty was made with Bel- 
gium. Some claims of American merchants against Portugal, for illegal 
captures, were prosecuted to a successful result, and an eflbrt was made 
by the administration to procure satisfaction from Spain, for illegal deten- 
tions and captures of American property, subsequent to the treaty of 1819, 
and an acknowledgment of their justice was finally extorted from that 
government. A treaty of commerce was concluded with Chili. 

The second presidential term of General Jackson commenced on the 
4th of March, 1833. At twelve o'clock on that day, the president and 
vice-president elect, attended by the heads of departments, foreign minis- 
ters and their suites, judges of the supreme court, senators, and members 
of the house of representatives, the mayor and citizens of Washington, and 
23 



354 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

Strangers, entered the hall of representatives. The president took the 
seat of the speaker of the house, with the vice-president, Mr. Van Buren, 
on his left, and his private secretary, Mr. Donelson, on his right. After 
a pause of a few minutes, the president rose, and was greeted by the 
cheers of the large assembly present. He then proceeded, in an audible 
and firm voice, to pronounce his inaugural address, at the close of which 
he was again greeted with cheers and applause. The chief justice then 
administered the usual oath to the president. The oath was also admin- 
istered to Mr. Van Buren, after which the president and vice-president 
retired, amid the plaudits of the assembly. 

The excitement of the political contest was at an end ; nullification was 
virtually relinquished by South Carolina ; and the modification of the 
tariff had tranquillized the public mind. The angry feelings engendered by 
the election had subsided ; and in a tour which the president made through 
the middle and eastern states, in the summer of 1833, both parties united 
to do honor to the chief magistrate of the republic ; his opponents heartily 
approving of his course toward South Carolina, and of the principles 
avowed by him in his proclamation and message, and his supporters giv- 
ing vent to those feelings which had originally enlisted them, as a party, 
in his favor. 

A political calm had succeeded the tempest, and it seemed as if the 
second term of General Jackson's administration was about to prove as 
quiet and tranquil, as the first had been stormy and turbulent. This ex- 
pectation was not destined to be realized. A new subject of excitement 
was at this time introduced into our politics, which continued to agitate 
the public mind for a large portion of the remaining period of General 
Jackson's administration, affecting, as it did, the interests of the commu- 
nity generally. We allude to the removal of the government deposites 
from the bank of the United States, by order of the president. 

By the law of 1816, creating the bank of the United States, the public 
moneys were required to be deposited in the vaults of the bank and its 
branches, and, as an equivalent for that deposite, the bank assumed the re- 
sponsibility of acting as the fiscal agent of the government. 

In the same act, however, it was provided that the public deposites 
might be removed by the secretary of the treasury ; but requiring him to 
lay his reasons for removing them immediately before Congress. 

After the A'eto of the bill to recharter the bank, the president soon de- 
termined that that institution should be deprived of the public deposites, 
although the charter did not expire until 183G. We have already seen 
that Congress, in 1833, refused, by a decisive vote, to authorize the remo- 
val of the deposites, as recommended by the president, and new means 
were adopted to effect the contemplated end. 

The secretary of state, Edward Livingston, being at this time appointed 
minister to France, on account of the state of our relations with that power, 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 35b 

Lonis M'Lane, secretary of the treasury, who had declined to sanction 
the removal of the deposites from the United States bank, was transferred 
to the state department, and William J. Duane, of Pennsylvania, was ap- 
pointed his successor. It was soon, however, found, that Mr. Duane was 
not willing to act in that matter, without sufficient reasons to sustain him 
before the world. 

The president had urged Mr. Duane, during his northern tour in the 
summer of 1833, to remove the public moneys from the obnoxious institu- 
tion, v,rithout convincing him of the propriety of the step. He finally 
obtained from him his consent to appoint Amos Kendall, as an agent, to 
inquire into the terms upon which the local banks, incorporated by the 
several states, would take the public deposites, upon the basis of mutual 
guarantee. This basis, however, was found to be inadmissible. The 
banks refused to guaranty for each other, and the secretary was soon 
made to understand that it was the president's determination to remove the 
deposites at all hazards. 

To this he explicitly refused to lend himself. He even refused to fix 
a day after the adjournment of Congress, for their removal, in case that 
body did not act upon the subject. The most he would agree to was, to 
remove them in case Congress ordered him so to do. 

In this dilemma, the president convoked the cabinet on the 10th of Sep- 
tember, 1833, and laid before its members an exposition of his views upon 
this important question. The doctrines advanced in this document were, 
that the power of the secretary to remove the deposites was unqualified, 
and not lim.ited to particular contingencies ; that the speedy termination 
of the charter of the bank rendered it incumbent on the secretary to intro- 
duce a plan for keeping and disbursing the public revenue, before its dis- 
solution, to avoid any derangement consequent upon such a change at 
that moment ; that the conduct of the bank in relation to the redemption 
of the three per cent, stocks, and the bill on the French government ; and 
its interference with politics, deserved punishment ; and under those cir- 
cumstances, the president assumed the responsibility himself, of removing 
the public deposites from the United States bank, and fixed upon the 1st 
of October, 1833, as the day for their removal. 

The secretary of the treasury deliberated upon the question thus au- 
thoritatively pressed upon him, and on the 21st of September he announced 
to the president his determination not to carry his directions into effect. 
He also resolved not to resign ; and as he was the only officer who could 
give a legal order for the removal of the public moneys, the president was 
compelled, in order to carry his designs into efi'ect, to remove the secre- 
tary. This was done on the 23d of September, and Roger B. Taney (then 
attorney-general) appointed in his place. Benjamin F. Butler, of New 
York, was appointed attorney-general in place of Mr. Taney. 

The new secretary was known to entertain similar opinions to those of 



356 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

the president, both as to the right and expediency of removing the clepos- 
ites, and he immediately issued the necessary orders for their removal to 
the local banks selected by him as agents of the government. 

Almost simultaneously with this step, an attempt was made to destroy 
the credit of the bank, by suddenly presenting for payment, at one of the 
distant branches, a large amount of their circulating notes, which had been 
secretly accumulated. This demand was promptly met ; but, connected 
with the withdrawal of the public deposites, it evinced a settled hostility 
against the bank, and compelled the directors to adopt a general system of 
retrenchment, with a view to its own safety. 

Great commercial distress immediately ensued. The amount of the 
loans of the bank, on the 1st of t)ctober, 1833, was over sixty millions of 
dollars ; and the amount of deposites of the United States government at 
that time in the bank, was $9,868,435, all of which amount was removed 
during a period of about nine months, and the greater part of the same 
during the first four months. At the moment of taking this step, the busi- 
ness of the country was unusually active. The capitalist and the mer- 
chant, mechanics and manufacturers, had unlimited confidence in each 
other, and all the moneyed institutions of the country had extended their 
loans to the utmost bounds of their ability. 

At such a juncture, great and rigid retrenchment, attended with want of 
confidence, was necessarily productive of ruinous consequences. Private 
credit was deeply affected, and the business of the country was interrupted 
to a degree that could be attributable only to the panic which followed 
this violent attack upon the pecuniary concerns of the community.* 

The twenty-third Congress held its first session from December 2, 
1833, to June 30, 1834. There was a decided administration majority in 
the house of representatives. Andrew Stevenson was again elected 
speaker, receiving 142 votes, against 66 for all others, and 9 blanks. In 
the senate the new vice-president, Mr. Van Buren, took his seat, as pre- 
siding officer, but in that body the administration were in the minority, in 
consequence of Mr. Calhoun and other state-rights senators acting with 
the opposition. 

The principal topic of discussion at this session of Congress was the 
removal of the deposites, by order of the president, from the bank of the 
United States. The subject was brought before the two houses by the 
president's message and the report from the secretary of the treasury. On 
the 26th of December, 1833, Mr. Clay offered the following resolution, in 
the senate, which gave rise to long and animated debates, and was finally 
adopted on the 28th March, 1834, ayes 26, noes 20: "■Resolved, That 
the president, in the late executive proceedings in relation to the public 
revenue, has assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by 
the constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." Against this reso- 
• American Annual Register. 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 357 

I-ution the president sent in his protest to the senate, containing an elabo- 
rate argument on the subject, in which he denied the right of the senate 
to censure him in this way, and demanded that this remonstrance should 
be placed on their records. This the senate refused. 

The senate, on the 4th of June, also adopted two joint resolutions 
offered by Mr. Clay, declaring, 1st, that the reasons of the secretary of the 
treasury were unsatisfactory and insufficient ; 2d, requiring the deposite 
of the public moneys to be made in the bank of the United States. The 
first of these resolutions was adopted, 29 to 16; the second, 28 to 16. 
In the house of representatives they were laid on the table — ayes 114, 
noes 101. 

The removal of the deposites caused intense excitement and. much com- 
mercial distress throughout the Union. Numerous committees, appointed 
by merchants, mechanics, tradesmen, and others, in the principal cities 
and towns, waited on the president, asking that he would recommend 
some measure of relief. To these he replied, in substance, " that the 
government could give no relief, and provide no remedy ; that the banks 
were the occasion of all the evils which existed, and that those who suf- 
fered by their great enterprise, had none to blame but themselves ; that 
those who traded on borrowed capital ought to break." Petitions for 
the restoration of the deposites, or some other measure of relief, were 
poured into Congress during the whole session ; they were favorably re- 
ceived in the senate, but as the house of representatives sustained the 
president, petitions to counteract his views met with but little favor in 
that body. 

Resolutions reported by the committee of ways and means in the house, 
were adopted on the 4th of April ; 1st, that the bank of the United States 
ought not to be rechartered — ayes 132, noes 82 ; 2d, that the public de- 
posites ought not to be restored to the bank of the United States — ayes 
118, noes 103. 

On the 2d of June, the speaker of the house, Mr. Stevenson, having 
been nominated by the president minister to Great Britain, resigned his 
situation as speaker ; and the house proceeded to ballot for a speaker in 
his place. John Bell, of Tennessee, was elected, on the tenth ballot, re- 
ceiving 114 votes, to 78 for James K. Polk, and 26 scattering and blanks. 
Mr. Polk was the administration candidate, and Mr. Bell was elected by 
the votes of the opposition and a portion of the administration party who 
were opposed to Mr. Van Buren as successor to General Jackson. 

On the 23d of June the senate rejected the nomination of Mr. Taney as 
secretary of the treasury, 28 to 18; and on the 24th Andrew Stevenson 
was rejected as minister to England, 23 to 22. The ground taken on the 
rejection of Mr. Stevenson was, that he had received the offer of the mis- 
sion to Great Britain in a letter from the secretary of state, by order of the 
president, in March, 1833, after which he had been elected to Congress 



358 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

and made speaker of the house, the committees of which he had appointed 
in conformity with the views of the president. Being called on by the sen- 
ate for a copy of the letter to Mr. Stevenson offering him the mission, the 
president communicated the same, although denying their right to ask for 
it, and informed the senate that the contingency on which Mr. Stevenson 
was 1.0 be appointed did not arise, but the negotiation expected was com- 
menced at Washington instead of London. The mission to England con- 
tinued vacant for sevei'al years after the rejection of Mr. Van Buren, in 
1832, and the affairs of the United States with that kingdom were, during 
the period, intrusted to Aaron Vail, who had been secretary of legation 
under Mr. Van Buren. The president declined nominating any other per- 
son as minister, until Mr. Stevenson was named, and after he was reject- 
ed, the place still continued vacant until March, 1836, when Mr. Steven- 
son was again nominated, and then confirmed by the senate. Strong ob- 
jections were raised in the senate in 1834, against the frequent appoint- 
ments of members of Congress to office by General Jackson. During the 
first five years of his administration he had appointed to office thirteen 
senators and twenty-five representatives. In June, 1834, Mr. M'Lane 
having resigned, John Forsyth, of Georgia, was appointed secretary of 
state, Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, secretary of the navy, in place of 
Levi Woodbury, appointed secretary of the treasury. 

An important act respecting the coinage of the United States was 
passed at this session. By this law the weight of the gold eagle of the 
United States was reduced twelve grains, being equal to 66^ cents less in 
value than the old coin of that denomination. Two other acts were 
passed, regulating the value of certain foreign gold and silver coins. The 
object of these several acts was to infuse a larger proportion of gold and 
silver into the currency of the United States than had been used ; and this 
became a favorite project of the president and his supporters in the cabi- 
net and in Congress. Increased activity was given to the mint, and the 
display of the new gold coin among the people had an important bearing 
on the elections in the different slates, and operated favorably to the 
administration. 

Among the other acts passed at this long and arduous session, those of 
most general interest were as follows : making appropriations for certain 
harbors and rivers ; for completing a road from Memphis to Little Rock, 
in Arkansas ; authorizing certain roads in Arkansas ; aiding roads in 
Michigan ; continuing the Cumberland road ; appropriations for light- 
houses ; for improvement of the Hudson river ; authorizing the purchase 
of the papers and books of General Washington. 

The course of the president with regard to the bank of the United 
States, although it was popular with the mass of the people in some sec- 
tions of the country, caused a considerable diminution of the strength of the 
administration in the commercial states, as evinced by the elections ia 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 359 

1834. Many of those who had supported General Jackson, now joined 
the opposition, the combined forces of the party opposing the administra- 
tion now assuming the name of " whigs," and thus appUed, the term was 
first adopted in the state of New York. The friends of the administration 
adhered to the party name of " democrats." 

The twenty-third Congress held its second session from December 1, 
1834, to March 3, 1835. George Poindexter, of Mississippi, had been 
chosen president pro tern, of the senate, at the close of the last session, 
but as the vice-president, Mr. Van Buren, was constantly in his seat as 
presiding officer, President Jackson was saved from the mortification of 
seeing at the head of the senate one to whom he was personally inimical ; 
a quarrel having occurred between the president and the senator from 
Mississippi. 

But few acts of general interest were passed at this short session. Ap- 
propriations were made for roads and surveys, also for certain harbors and 
rivers ; and, as usual, for the Cumberland road. Branches of the mint 
were established at the gold mines in North Carolina and Georgia ; also 
at New Orleans. In conformity with the recommendation of the presi- 
dent, an act was passed regulating the government deposites in the state 
banks. At the close of the session, John Tyler, of Virginia, was elected 
president pro tern, of the senate. He had generally acted with the opposi- 
ti®a after the removal of the deposites from the United States bank, by 
President Jackson. 

There was an impression at this time, that General Jackson contempla- 
ted retiring from the presidency, leaving the reins of government in the 
hands of Mr. Van Buren for the remainder of his term ; but if he had such 
an intention it was abandoned. He was, however, anxious that Mr. Van 
Buren should be his successor in the presidency, and in February, 1835, 
he came out with a letter to a friend, in which he expresses himself in 
favor of a national democratic convention, to nominate a president and 
vice-president. The convention was a favorite project of Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, and it soon appeared that all the supporters of the administration who 
were in favor of Mr. Van Buren as successor to General Jackson, advocated 
a nomination by a convention, while the opponents of Mr. Van Buren, in 
the same ranks, denounced that mode of nomination. A large section of 
the Jackson party gave early indications of an intention to support Hugh 
L. White, one of the Tennessee senators, for president, and in January, 
1835, he was nominated by the legislature of Alabama, and, about the 
same time, by the people of Tennessee, and by the Tennessee delegation 
in the house of representatives, all of whom signed a letter in his favor, ex- 
cept James K. Polk and Cave Johnson. Mr. Van Buren was already 
nominated for the presidency by a state convention in Mississippi. 
Three candidates had been named by the whig opposition, namely, Gen- 
eral William H. Harrison, of Ohio, by a meeting at Harrisburg ; John 



360 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

M'Lean, of Ohio, by a legislative caucus in that state ; and Daniel Web- 
ster, by the whigs in the legislature of Massachusetts. 

The national democratic convention for the nomination of president and 
vice-president of the United States, met at Baltimore on the 20th of 
May, 1835. More than six hundred delegates were in attendance, and 
twenty-two states were represented. Upon the first ballot, Martin Van 
Buren received the unanimous vote of the convention for president. This 
was expected, as none but the friends of Mr. Van Buren took part in the 
convention. Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, received the 
nominaiion for vice-president, by 178 votes, to 87 for William C. Rives, 
of Virginia. The delegates from Virginia protested against the nomina- 
tion of Colonel Johnson, declaring that he could not receive the vote of 
that state. 

William T. Barry being appointed minister to Spain, Amos Kendall 
was appointed postmaster-general in his place, in May, 1835. 

The payment of the first instalment of the French indemnity being still 
refused by the French chambers, the president instructed Mr. Livingston, 
minister to that court, to return to the United States. He accordingly 
asked for his passports, and arrived home in June, 1835. The affairs 
between the United States and France now wore a threatening aspect, but 
the matter in dispute was finally settled, through the intervention of the 
British government, in 1836. 

The twenty-fourth Congress assembled on the 7th of December, 1835, 
and the first session continued until the 4th of July, 1836. James K. 
Polk, of Tennessee, was elected speaker of the house of representatives, 
having received 132 votes, against 84 for John Bell, the late speaker, and 
9 scattering and blank votes. Mr. Polk was the administration candidate, 
and Mr. Bell was supported by the opposition, including the friends of 
Judge White for the presidency. 

The statements in the message of the president at the opening of this 
session, indicated a high state of public prosperity, so far as the national 
treasury was concerned. The public debt had then been extinguished, 
and there was a large surplus remaining in the treasury. The country 
had at this time somewhat recovered from the panic and shock affecting 
public and private credit, occasioned by the removal of the deposites, and 
concomitant circumstances. 

Mr. Clay again introduced a bill to provide for the distribution of the 
proceeds of the public lands among the states, which passed the senate by 
a vote of 25 to 20, but was not acted on by the house of representatives. 

The most important act of the session was the distribution act, or a bill 
to regulate the deposites of the public money, which was passed in June, 
1836 ; it provided that the money which should be in the treasury on the 
1st day of January, 1837, reserving the sum of five millions of dollars, 
should be deposited with the several states, in proportion to their respec- 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 361 

live representation in Congress, which should by law authorize their treas- 
urer or other competent authorities to receive the same. The deposites 
to be made with the states in quarterly amounts, commencing on the 1st 
of January, 1837. 

The bill to distribute the proceeds of the public lands, as proposed by-Mr. 
Clay, having failed, and there being a large surplus in the treasury, the bill 
just mentioned, for the distribution of the surplus revenue, was' devised, to 
effect temporarily the same purpose ; and to obviate the scruples of the 
president, the law provided for a deposite with the states without interest, 
instead of a positive transfer or quit-claim from the general government 
to the states. The law, however, received the support of more than two 
thirds of each house.* The amount thus divided among the states, with 
no expectation of being again recalled (and that can not be done till di- 
rected by Congress), was over twenty-eight millions of dollars. The bal- 
ance of the public debt was paid otf in 1835, and the amount of revenue 
from customs and sales of the public lands, in that and the succeeding 
year, had swollen the surplus in the treasury, in 1836, to more than forty 
millions of dollars. Owing to the subsequent pecuniary difficulties of the 
government, in 1837, Congress suspended the fourth instalment to be de- 
posited with the states. 

A new law respecting patents was also enacted at this session, and all 
former general laws on this subject were repealed. The state of Michi- 
gan was admitted into the Union, on certain conditions ; but those condi- 
tions were not complied with until the following year, when the state was 
formally admitted. The state of Arkansas was also admitted into the 
Union. Among other important acts of the session, those of most general 
interest were those making appropriations for the improvement of certain 
harbors and rivers, and for continuing the Cumberland road. At the close 
of the session, William R. King, of Alabama, an administration senator, 
was elected president pro tern, of the senate. At the commencement of 
the session there was an opposition majority in the senate ; but several 
changes had taken place, and the administration now claimed a majority in 
both branches of Congress. 

A bill was passed by Congress fixing the day of meeting and adjourn-*, 
ment, which was vetoed by the president, in the following message to the 
senate, on the 9th of June : — 
" To the Senate of the United States : — 

" The act of Congress ' to appoint a day for the annual meeting of Con- 
gress,' which originated in the senate, has not received my signature. The 
power of Congress to fix, by law, a day for the regular annual meeting of 
Congress is undoubted ; but the concluding part of this act, which is in- 
tended to fix the adjournment of every succeeding Congress to the second 
Monday in May, after the commencement of the first session, does not ap- 
* It passed the senate, ayes 39, noes 6 — house, ayes J 55 noes 38. 



362 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

pear to me in accordance with the provisions of the constitution of the 
United States. 

" The constitution provides : — 

" 1st article, 5th section: That 'neither house, during the session of 
Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than 
three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two houses shall 
be sitting.' 

" 1st article, 7th section : That ' every order, resolution, or vote, to which 
the -concurrence of the senate and house of representatives may be neces- 
sary (except on the question of adjournment), shall be presented to the 
president of the United States, and, before the same shall take effect, 
shall be approved of by him,' &c. 

" 2d article, 3d section : That ' he [the president] may, on extraordinary 
occasions, conA'ene both houses of Congress, or either of them ; and, in case 
of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he 
may adjourn them to such times as he thinks proper,' &c. 

" According to these provisions, the day of the adjournment of Congress 
is not the subject of legislative enactment. Except in the event of disa- 
greement between the senate and house of representatives, the president 
has no right to meddle with the question, and, in that event, his power is 
exclusive, but confined to fixing the adjournment of the Congress whose 
branches have disagreed. The question of adjournment is obviously to be 
decided by each Congress for itself, by the separate action of each house 
for the time being, and is one*f those subjects upon which the framers of 
that instrument did not intend one Congress should act, with or without 
the executive aid, for its successors. As a substitute for the present rule, 
which requires the two houses by consent to fix the day of adjournment, 
and, in the event of disagreement, the president to decide, it is proposed 
to fix the day by law, to be binding in all future time, unless changed by 
consent of both houses of Congress, and to take away the contingent 
power of the executive, which, in anticipated cases of disagreement, is 
vested in him. This substitute is to apply, not to the present Congress 
and executive, but to our successors. Considering, therefore, that this 
.subject exclusively belongs to the two houses of Congress, whose day of 
adjournment is to be fixed, and that each has at that time the right to main- 
tain and insist upon its own opinion, and to require the president to de- 
cide in the event of disagreement with the other, I am constrained to deny 
my sanction to the act herewith respectfully returned to the senate. I do 
so with greater reluctance, as, apart from this constitutional difllculty, the 
other provisions of it do not appear to me objectionable." 

After the adjournment of Congress, the public mind was much agitated 
by the promulgation of an executive order from the treasury department, 
called " the specie circular." During the session, Mr. Benton, of Missouri, 
had offered a resolution in the senate, on the 22d of April, declaring that 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 363 

nothing ought to be received but gold and silver in payment for the public 
lands, and that the committee on the public lands be instructed to report a 
bill accordingly. This resolution was not acted upon in the senate ; but 
soon after Congress had adjourned, a circular was issued by Mr. Woodbu- 
ry, secretary of the treasury, dated the 11th of July, 1836 (by order of the 
president), directing the receivers of the public moneys to receive, in pay- 
ment of the public lands, nothing but gold and silver (and Virginia land 
scrip in certain cases). As the sales of the public lands had been very 
large for two or three years, and many of the purchases had been made 
on speculation, through the facilities aflbrded by the state banks, the oper- 
ation of this specie circular from the treasury department, proved very 
disastrous in its eflects upon the business community. 

When it was ascertained that the bank of the United States would not 
be rechartered as a national institution, numerous banks were incorporated 
by the several state legislatures, to supply the supposed want of banking 
capital. The bank of the United States was chartered by the legislature 
of Pennsylvania, in 1836, with the same amount of capital as the national 
institution (the charter of which expired the same year), viz., thirty-five 
millions of dollars. The panic occasioned by the removal of the depos- 
ites having subsided, and the state banks being Avithout the check of a na- 
tional regulator to prevent excessive issues of paper circulation, the facili- 
ties of bank accommodations occasioned a scene of speculation which 
extended far and wide, over the whole Union, and all classes of citizens 
were more or less entangled in the operations which ensued. Extensive 
purchases of the public lands, by individuals and companies, were among 
the schemes of the day, for the employment of the abundance of bank 
paper. 

The immediate effect of the treasury circular, requiring specie to be paid 
for purchases of the public lands, was to divert the flow of specie from 
the legitimate channels of commerce, and otherwise to derange the cur- 
rency, thus embarrassing the operations of the business community. So far 
as the circular tended to check the tide of speculation, particularly in the 
public lands, its operation was deemed salutary. 

In March, 1836, the senate confirmed the nomination of Roger B. Ta- 
ney as chief justice of the supVeme court, in place of John Marshall, de- 
ceased ; also Philip P. Barbour, to fill a vacancy on the same bench ; 
Amos Kendall, postmaster-general ; and John H. Eaton, minister to 
Spain. Mr. Kendall succeeded William T. Barry in May, 1835, but was 
not confirmed until 1836.' In June, 1834, the senate passed a vote of 
censure unanimously (yeas 41), on Mr. Barry, for borrowing money ille- 
gally of banks, on account of the postoffice department. When he 
resigned the ofiice of postmaster-general. President Jackson appointed 
him minister to Spain, in 1835; his health at the time was precarious, 
and he died at Liverpool, in England, on the 30th of August, the same 



364 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

year. Mr. Eaton, formerly secretary of war, was appointed to succeed 
him. 

The presidential election, which took place in the fall of 1836, was 
warmly contested. The different sections of the opposition, although 
they were unable to concentrate their forces upon a single candidate for 
president, had strong hopes of defeating the election of Mr. Van Buren 
by throwing the final choice into the house of representatives, and it was 
" not believed that Mr. Van Buren could obtain a majority of the electoral votes, 
over all his opponents. The result was contrary to all reasonable calcu- 
lations, and proved the potency of party discipline, even in electing the chief 
magistrate of the American republic. The great portion of the opposition 
supported General William H. Harrison, of Ohio, for president, but Judge 
White, of Tennessee, was preferred in some of the southern and south- 
western states, and in several states the friends of Harrison and White 
united on the same electoral tickets ; in no instance did they run in oppo- 
sition to each other, in the same state. The friends of General Harrison, 
generally, nominated for vice president, Francis Granger, of New York, 
while the supporters of Judge White nominated John Tyler, of Virginia, 
who also received the votes of the Harrison men in Maryland, and the 
state-rights men in South Carolina. Massachusetts supported Daniel 
Webster for president, and the vote of South Carolina was given to Willie 
P. Mangum, of North Carolina. 

The result of the election was as follows : For president, Martin Van 
Buren 170, William H. Haraison 73, Hugh L. White 26, Daniel Web- 
ster 14, Willie P. Mangum 11. Total opposition, 124 votes: majority 
for Van Buren, 46. For vice-]>resident, Richard M. Johnson 147, Fran- 
cis Granger 77, John Tyler 47, William Smith, of Alabama (the vote of 
Virginia), 23. Michigan (3 votes, included in the above) was not for- 
mally admitted into the Union as a state at the time when the electors 
were chosen. After the votes for president and vice-president were 
counted in Congress, in February, 1837, the president of the senate de- 
clared Martin Van Buren elected president of the United States ; and that 
no person had been elected vice-president. The senate, in conformity to 
the provisions of the constitution, then proceeded to elect a vice-president, 
and made choice of Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, he having 33 votes, 
and Francis Granger 16. 

The second session of the twenty-fourth Congress commenced on the 
5th of December, 1836, and terminated on the 3d of March, 1837. But 
few acts of general interest were passed ; among them were an act to ad- 
mit the state of Michigan into the Union ; and acts making appropriations 
for harbors, rivers, roads, and lighthouses. Mr. King was continued as 
president of the senate pro tcm. The most exciting subject of the session 
was the passage, by the senate, after a warm debate, of a resolution, on 
the 16th of January, offered by Mr. Benton, to expunge from the records 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 365 

(by drawing black lines around it) the resolution offered by Mr. Clay, and 
adopted on the 28th of March, 1834, viz. : "Resolved, That the presi- 
dent, in the late executive proceedings in relation to the public revenue, 
has assumed upon himself authority and power not confenred by the 
constitution and laws, but in derogation of both." The expunging reso- 
lution which was now adopted, by a vote of 24 to 19, and immediately 
carried into effect, by the secretary of the senate, was offered by Mr. 
Benton at a previous session, but was not pressed to a decision until an 
administration majority was secured in the senate. 

In consequence of the dissatisfaction felt in the country with the opera- 
tion of the specie circular of the treasury department, before mentioned, a 
bill passed both houses at this session, designating and limiting the funds 
receivable for the revenues of the United States. This bill, which provi- 
ded for the reception of the notes of specie-paying banks, in certain cases, 
was warmly debated, and particularly opposed by Mr. Benton. The 
president prevented it from becoming a law, by retaining it in his hands 
after the adjournment of Congress ; and this informal veto formed the last 
act of his administration. His reasons are set forth in the following pa- 
per, which was published in the Globe (the official gazette), after General 
Jackson retired from the presidency : — 

Reasons of the president for retaining the bill designating and limiting the 
funds receivable for the revenues of the United States. 

" Was-hington, 3farch 3, 1837, ) 
" ^ before 12, P. M. S 
" The bill from the senate entitled,' An act designating and limiting the 
funds receivable for the revenues of the United States,' came to my hands 
yesterday, at 2 o'clock, P. M. On perusing it, I found its provisions so 
complex and uncertain, that I deemed it necessary to obtain the opinion 
of the attorney-general of the United States, on several important ques- 
tions, touching its construction and effect, before I could decide on the 
disposition to be made of it. The attorney-general took up the subject 
immediately, and his reply was reported to me this day, at 5 o'clock, P. M. 
As this officer, after a careful and laborious examination of the bill, and a 
distinct expression of his opinion on the points proposed to him, still came 
to' the conclusion that the construction of the bill, should it become a law, 
would be a subject of much perplexity and doubt (a view of the bill en- 
tirely coincident with my own), and as I can not think it proper, in a mat- 
ter of such vital interest, and of such constant application, to approve a bill 
so liable to diversity of interpretation, and more especially, as I have not 
had time, amid the duties constantly pressing on me, to give the subject 
that deliberate consideration which its importance demands, I am con- 
strained to retain the bill, without acting definitively thereon ; and to the 
end that my reasons for this step may be fully understood, I shall cause 



S66 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

this paper, with the opinion of the attorney-general, and the bill in ques- 
tion, to be deposited in the department of state. 

"Andrew Jackson." 

Having issued to his countrymen the farewell address which is to be 
found in the preceding pages, and which is to be considered as imbodying 
his political views and principles. General Jackson remained at Washing- 
ton, to witness the inauguration of his chosen friend and successor, into 
whose hands he cheerfully committed the reins of government, and imme- 
diately went into retirement, at the Hermitage, in Tennessee. 

Thus terminated the administration of Andrew Jackson ; of which it may 
be remarked, that the space it occupies in our history is one which must 
always be considered an eventful era, characterized by scenes of contin- 
ued agitation and excitement of the public mind. At no period since the 
formation of our government, have the principles of free institutions and par- 
ticularly our constitution, as well as important measures bearing on the inter- 
ests of the people, been discussed with more ardor and ability. The ex- 
citing topics agitated during the presidential terms of General Jackson, are 
too intimately connected with the partisan politics of the present day, and 
the events we have related are too near, to admit of impartial comment at 
this time. The American people are still divided in opinion, and will 
probably long continue so, with regard to the merits of General Jackson's 
administration. 

We present a summary of some of the arguments on both sides, for 
future reference. It is claimed by his admirers, and the supporters of a 
similar policy, that his course as a statesman was wise, and beneficial to 
the country, inasmuch as the firm and decided tone displayed in the 
intercourse of the government with foreign powers elevated the national 
character, and effected the settlement of the long and protracted claims of 
our citizens for the former acts of injustice of those nations toward 
Americans ; that Jackson's administration was energetic, and of a positive 
not negative character ; that under it the national debt was extinguished, 
and the attention of the people turned toward a specie currency, instead 
of depending on the uncertainty of bank-paper exclusively for a circu- 
lation ; that the firmness of General Jackson in refusing to sanction 
a renewal of the charter of the United States bank, and his subse- 
quent course toward that institution, particularly in the removal of the 
deposites, effected the destruction of a dangerous monopoly ; and that 
his vetoes of the Maysville road bill and other schemes of internal 
improvement, as well as the land bill introduced by Mr. Clay, arrested 
the progress of extravagance and speculation in the states and among the 
people. 

The political opponents of General Jackson, on the contrary, contend, 
that inasmuch as the policy and plan of extinguishing the public debt 
by annual payments, had been adopted by President Monroe, twenty years 



ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 367 

before, and the system of revenue and finance established under his pred- 
ecessors ; the merit claimed for General Jackson, with regard to the pay- 
ment of the public debt, is not justly his due ; that the credit of this provi- 
dent plan of gradually reducing the debt, was principally due to Mr. 
Lowndes, a distinguished member of Congress from South Carolina ; and 
President Adams and the Congress acting with him, had faithfully pur- 
sued this wise and prudent course, having reduced the national debt, by 
the appropriation of about ten millions annually. The credit of managing 
our foreign relations with ability is not denied to General Jackson by his 
political opponents. With regard to his course in other matters, it is thus 
summed up by Mr. Bradford, in his history of the federal government : — 

"The promises of President Jackson's friends and supporters were not 
realized. They, indeed, were rewarded ; but not without a gross disre- 
gard to economy ; and whoever would not flatter the president, nor ap- 
plaud his measures, however honest, were removed from office ; and his 
professed friends exclusively intrusted with commissions which should be 
given only to the upright and patriotic. 

" But his arbitrary conduct in the management of the public moneys 
was most highly objectionable and most alarming to the friends of consti- 
tutional law, who considered the funds of the government entirely under 
the control of the representatives of the people ; except that the executive 
should be allowed discretion as to the time and manner of expending the 
money appropriated by law. His conduct, therefore, in seizing on the 
public funds, and withdrawing them from the bank of the United States, 
where Congress had ordered them to be deposited and kept, was very 
generally condemned, as an act of a most arbitrary nature, and of very 
dangerous precedent. And it was not so much this single act arbitrary 
and unauthorized as it was, as the principle assumed by the president, in 
this measure, of a right in the executive to go beyond law, and contrary 
to law even ; and to make his own opinion, rather than the laws of Con- 
gress, the rule of his conduct. 

" The conduct of President Jackson was not, in all respects, so favora- 
ble to the hopes of those who had been sanguine in their belief of the 
perpetuity of the republic, as that of his two immediate predecessors. Of 
the others, it is not necessary here to speak. They made the constitution 
a guide in their practice as well as in their professions ; and assumed 
little or no powers not clearly vested in the chief magistrate of the Union. 
In monarchies, the reigning prince has high discretionary powers. The 
exercise- of the royal prerogative is often carried to a great extent '; and 
thus the rights of the subjects are liable to be violated by the mere will of 
the king. In a republic, it is at least theoretically otherwise. Where the 
discretion of the magistrate is the rule and measure of his official acts, 
however patriotic are his purposes, equal and impartial justice can not be 
expected. He is not infallible, and may err in his judgment. He is 



368 ADMINISTRATION OF JACKSON. 

subject to like passions and prejudices, as other men, and will probably 
act from partial and improper feelings. From this source, there is always 
great danger to a republican government. The people must check all 
usurpation, and all arbitrary assumption of power in their rulers, or their 
liberties will be temporary and evanescent. If several successive chief 
magistrates of the Union are arbitrary in administering the government, 
and repeatedly transcend or disregard the provisions of the constitution, 
many generations will not have passed, before their civil freedom will be 
lost beyond recovery, and the people subject to as despotic rule as that of 
Caesar, or Napoleon, or the autocrat of Russia. Unless the constitution 
be the guide, the government of the United States, once highly blest, will 
be that of misrule and despotism." 



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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OP 



MARTIN VAN BUREN. 



The seven presidents of the United States whose lives and administra- 
tions we have noticed in the preceding pages, it will have been observed, 
were all descended from emigrants from the British isles ; their official 
terms occupy a space of forty-eight years, or nearly half a century from 
the adoption of the constitution ; and each of them had witnessed the pe- 
riod when the nation acquired her independence. We now enter upon a 
new era, and, leaving those whose early lives carry our memories back to 
the men and the times of our revolutionary struggle, we proceed to sketch 
the career of our eighth president, who, to use his own words, " unlike all 
who have preceded him, was born after the revolution was achieved ;" 
belonging, also, to another race by descent, as well as to a later age. 

The ancestors of Mr. Van Buren, both paternal and maternal, were 
among the early emigrants from Holland to the colony of New Nether- 
lands, now the state of New York. The family have always resided in 
the ancient town of Kinderhook, Columbia county, on the east bank of the 
Hudson river. The father of the president, Abraham Van Buren, vv^as a 
farmer of moderate circumstances, who is represented to have been an 
upright and intelligent rnan, of strong common sense, and pacific disposi- 
tion. The maiden name of the mother of the president was Hoes, also of 
Dutch descent. The name was originally Goes, and was one of some dis- 
tinction in the history of the Netherlands. She was twice married ; first 
to Mr. Van Alen, by whom she had two sons and a daughter, all of whom 
have been many years deceased. James I. Van Alen was a respectable law- 
yer of Columbia county, who was hondred with several important offices, 
and with whom his younger half-brother was connected in business at his 
entrance to the bar. 

The mother of Mr. Van Buren was distantly connected with the family 
of his father before their marriage. She was distinguished for her amia- 
24 



370 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

ble disposition, sagacity, and exemplary piety. She survived until 1818, 
four years after the death of her second husband. 

Martin Van Buren is the eldest son of these parents. He was born at 
Kinderhook, December, 5, 1782, At an early age he exhibited indica- 
tions of a superior understanding. His opportunities of instruction were 
limited, probably on account of the moderate properly of his father, who 
had two other sons, and two daughters.* 

After acquiring the rudiments of an English education, he became a 
student in the academy, in his native village. He there made considera- 
ble progress in the various branches of English literature, and gained some 
knowledge of Latin. It may be inferred, however, that all these acquisi- 
tions were not great in amount, as he left the academy, when but fourteen 
years of age, to begin the study of his profession. 

At that early period he evinced a strong passion for extempore speak- 
ing and literary composition. Even at that early age, too, he is repre- 
sented, by those who knew him, to have had a spirit of observation, with 
regard to public events, and the personal dispositions and characters of 
those around him, which gave an earnest of his future proficiency in the 
science of politics and of the human heart. 

In the year 1796, at the age of fourteen, Mr. Van Buren commenced 
the study of the law, in the office of Francis Sylvester, Esq., a respecta- 
ble lawyer of Kinderhook. The courts of law in the state of New York 
have adhered more closely to the English forms of practice than has beer\ 
done in most of the other states. The period of study preparatory to ad- 
mission to the bar, was seven years, for candidates who, like the subject 
of this memoir, had not the benefit of a collegiate education. 

The management of cases in courts held by justices of the peace, not 
unfrequently devolved upon students at law. The early indications of 
ability as a speaker and reasoner, which were exhibited by Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, occasioned his almost incessant employment in trials in these courts, 
from the earliest period of commencing the study of his profession. His 
father was a firm whig in the revolution, and a- democrat in the days of 
John Adams ; and the son was educated in the same principles, and of 
course formed his most intimate connexion with persons of the same po- 
litical faith. The democratic party was then a small minority in the 
town and county of his nativity. His political opinions, as well as his 
talents, led to his employment by the members of his own party, in their 
controversies with regard to personal rights, and rights of property. It 
often happened that, in the management of cases, he encountered men of 
age, talent, and high standing in the profession. 

At this early period Mr. Van Buren was an ardent and active politician. 
It was his constant habit to attend all meetings of the democratic party, to 
study with attention the political intelligence of the day, and to yield his 
• For part of this memoir we are indebted to Professor Holland's Life of Van Buren. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 371 

most zealous aid to the principles he held to be true. As early as 1800, 
when only in his eighteenth year, and still a student at law, he was depu- 
ted by the republicans in his native town, to attend a convention of dele- 
gates to nominate a candidate for the legislature. He had similar marks 
of the confidence of his political friends, on other occasions during his 
minority. 

The last year of Mr. Van Buren's preparatory studies was passed in 
the city of New York, in the office of Mr. William P. Van Ness, and un- 
der his direction. This gentleman was a native of Columbia county, but 
at that time a distinguished member of the bar in the city of New York, 
and a very conspicuous leader of the democratic party. In this situation 
Mr. Van Buren had every possible advantage for improvement ; and his 
thirst for knowledge, together with his aptitude in acquiring it, enabled 
him to make great advances. 

Mr. Van Ness was a devoted and intimate friend of Colonel Aaron Burr, 
at that time vice-president of the United States ; and in the feud which 
sprung up after the presidential election, between the respective friends 
of the president and vice-president, Mr. Van Ness advocated the cause of 
Colonel Burr, through the public press, with signal ability. Through the 
medium of this gentleman, Mr. Van Biiren was introduced to the notice of 
the vice-president, who was led, by his knowledge of the young lawyer's 
activity and influence in his native county, as well as by a quick-sighted 
observation of the future eminence promised by his early display of tal- 
ent, to treat him with marked attention, and to make every reasonable 
effort to secure his favorable regard. The tact and ability displayed by 
Colonel Burr in the great political contest which resulted in elevating Mr. 
Jefferson and himself to the highest offices in the gift of the people, and 
the reputation he had acquired as a leader Of the party, caused him to be 
looked upon as an oracle of political wisdom, particularly by young and 
ardent democrats, who were desirous of availing themselves of instruction 
from so experienced and influential a source. Among the maxims of 
Colonel Burr for the guidance of politicians, one of the most prominent 
was, that the people at elections were to be managed by the same rules 
of discipline as the soldiers of an army ; that a few leaders were to think 
for the masses ; and that the latter were to obey implicitly their leaders, 
and to move only at the word of command. He had, therefore, great con- 
fidence in the machinery of party, and that system of regular nominations 
in American politics of which he may perhaps be considered one of the 
founders. Educated as a military man, and imbibing his early views with 
regard to governing others, in the camp, it is not surprising that Colonel 
Burr should have applied the rules of military life to politics, and always 
inculcated the importance of discipline in the ranks of a party, to insure 
its ultimate success. In no part of the United States have these party 
rules been more constantly and rigidly enforced, than among the demo- 



37~2 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

crats of the state of New York ; and to their steady adherence to them 
may be attributed tl^e long succession of triumphs which have been 
achieved by the party with whom Mr. Van Buren has uniformly acted. 

In November, 1803, in the twenty-first year of his age, Mr. Van Buren 
was admitted, as an attorney at law, to the bar of the supreme court in the 
state of New York, and immediately returned to his native village, to com- 
mence the practice of his profession. He formed a partnership in busi- 
ness Avith the Hon. James I. Van Alen, a half-brother on his mother's 
side, and a gentleman who was considerably his senior. The bar of Co- 
lumbia county, at that time, embraced some of the most distinguished 
members of the legal profession in the state of New York, among whom 
were William W. Van Ness (afterward a judge of the supreme court of 
the state), Elisha Williams, Thomas P. Grosvenor, and Jacob R. Van 
Rensselaer. Other names might be mentioned as then in the field of 
competition upon which the youthful subject of this sketch then entered. 
The state of political parties at the period shows the difficulties with 
"which he contended. 

At the time when Mr. Van Buren commenced his professional career, 
the violence of party spirit was extreme throughout the country. The 
state of New York was fearfully agitated by its influence ; and in the 
county of Mr. Van Buren's residence, political dissensions were carried 
to the greatest extremities. The administration of the federal government 
had then passed, after a violent struggle, into the hands of the democratic 
party , but it was considered by no means certain that their ascendency 
would be of long continuance. In the state of New York generally, the 
democratic party triumphed in the elections after 1800 ; but in the county 
of Columbia the federal party long held the reins of power. The land- 
holders in Kinderhook and its vicinity had inherited large estates from a 
long line of wealthy ancestors, and had exercised, by proscription, an in- 
fluence over their tenants and the more recent emigrants, analogous in its 
nature, and almost in its extent, to the baronial prerogatives of feudal 
lords. The great mass of mercantile and professional men in the county 
were dependent upon these wealthy freeholders for patronage, as also 
were the laborers and mechanics, in a still greater degree. The mem- 
bers of these families were generally federalists, and looked with anxious 
disapprobation upon any eff"orts to extend popular rights. Toward the 
champions of the democracy they exhibited neither liberality nor tolera- 
tion, but carried on a warfare against them, both in public and private, of 
the most obstinate and embittered character. 

Mr. Van Buren's early exhibition of energy and talent attracted their 
attention, and no ordinary pains were taken to detach him from the con- 
nexion he had chosen with the democracy. The gentleman with whom 
he had studied his profession, Mr. Sylvester, and his relative and partner 
in business, Mr. Van Alen, were federalists, and by their example and 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 373 

advice endeavored to withdraw him from a political connexion which they 
viewed as wrong, and injurious to his prospects in business. " Firmly fixed 
in the political faith of his father, who was a whig in the revolution, an 
anti-federalist in 17S8, and an early supporter of Jefferson, the subject of 
this memoir," says his biographer, " shrunk not from the severe tests which 
were applied to the strength and integrity of his convictions. Without 
patronage, comparatively poor, a plebeian by birth, and not furnished with 
the advantages of a superior education, he refused to worship, either at 
the shrine of wealth or power, but followed the dictates of his native judg- 
ment, and hesitated not, in behalf of the cause which he thus adopted, to 
encounter the utmost violence of his political enemies." 

Thus connected with the democratic party, he naturally became the 
vindicator, not only of tlieir political faith, but of their legal rights. The 
conflicts in which he engaged, rapidly invigorated and enlarged his natu- 
ral powers. It was soon seen that he was able to cope with the ablest 
of his opponents in the local courts. In 1807 he was admitted as a coun- 
sellor in the supreme court, where he was brought into more immediate 
collision with the most distinguished members of the profession. In 
1808 he v/as appointed surrogate of Columbia county, soon after which 
he removed to the city of Hudson, where he resided during seven years, 
and rapidly advanced toward a high rank in his profession. In 1815 he 
was appointed attorney-general of the state, at which time his practice in 
the courts had become extensive and lucrative. His career as a lawyer 
occupies a period of twenty-five years, and was closed in the spring 
of 1828. 

Mr. Van Buren was married in 1806, to Miss Hannah Hoes, who was 
distantly related to him before their marriage. The intimacy which re- 
sulted in this union, was formed in very early life. His ardent attachment 
to her was evinced on all occasions until the period of her decease, by 
consumption, in 1818. This lady left him a family of four sons, and Mr. 
Van Buren has since remained a widower. 

Having thus noted the professional and private life of Mr. Van Buren, 
it remains briefly to sketch his career as a politician and statesman. 

His first active participation in political affairs, was in the great contest 
which preceded the elevation of Mr. Jefferson to the presidency, in 1801. 
At the early age of eighteen years we find him intrusted with the expres- 
sion of the political views of a portion of the democratic party, as we have 
already stated, in being chosen a delegate to a convention. His abilities 
were put in requisition on that occasion, in preparing an address to the 
electors of the district in which he resided. 

In the spring of 1804, he made his first appearance at the polls as an 
elector. At that election Morgan Lewis and Aaron Burr (then vice-presi- 
dent of the United States) were the opposing candidates for governor of 
New York. Both belonged to the democratic party, but the former re- 



374 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BVRT.N. 

ceived the regular nomination of a majority of the democrats in the legis- 
lature, while the latter was supported by a smaller section of the party, 
and a portion of the federalists. In Columbia county Colonel Burr was 
warmly sustained by many leading politicians, among whom were some 
of Mr. Van Buren's best friends. During his own residence as a student 
at law in the city of New York, with Mr. William P. Van Ness, a friend 
of Burr, he had received many flattering marks of attention from the vice- 
president. But true to his own principles and the spirit of his party, Mr. 
Van Buren gave his vigorous and unhesitating support to Mr. Lewis, at 
the hazard of a temporary estrangement from several valued democratic 
friends. 

In 1807 the antagonist candidates for governor were Morgan Lewis and 
Daniel D. Tompkins. The latter was then the candidate of a large ma- 
jority of the democratic party ; Governor Lewis receiving the suppoit of 
the federalists and a few democrats. Tompkins was elected by a large 
majority of votes ; he received Mr. Van Buren's most zealous and decided 
support on this occasion, also in 1810 and 1813 ; the views of these two 
leaders of the democratic party generally agreeing on the prominent polit- 
ical questions of the period. 

In 1808 Mr. Van Buren was appointed surrogate of Columbia county, and 
retained the office until February, 1813, when, the federalists having obtained 
the ascendency in the state, he was removed. It may be here remarked, 
that the administration of Mr. Jefl'erson, during its whole course, received 
his constant support. The non-intercourse act, the embargo, and other 
measures of Mr. Jefferson, received his hearty concurrence. He warmly 
defended and justified the course of George Clinton, then vice-president 
of the United States, in giving his casting vote, in February, 1811, against 
the bill for renewing the charter of the first bank of the United States. It 
is curious to notice in this place, that the renewal of the charter of the 
bank was recommended by Mr. Gallatin, then secretary of the treasury, 
and sustained in the senate by William H. Crawford, two gentlemen whom 
Mr. Van Buren joined with others in recommending for president and vice- 
president of the United States in 1824. 

In 1812 Mr. Van Buren was, for the first time, a candidate for an elec- 
tive office, having been nominated as a senator from the counties then 
comprising the middle district of the state. His opponent was Edward P. 
Livingston, belonging also to the democracy ; a man of wealth and pow- 
erful family connexions, and supported by the bank democrats and the en- 
tire federal party of the district. The contest was one of the most violent 
ever known in the state, and resulted in the election of Mr. Van Buren, 
by a majority of about 200, in an aggregate of twenty thousand votes. 
Thus, in the thirtieth year of his age, he was placed in the highest branch 
of the legislature of his native state. 

Previous to his election, the democratic members of the legislature of 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN nUREN". 375 

N«w York had, in the spring of 1812, nominated Do Witt Clinton for 
president of the United States, and in November, 1812, the succeeding 
legiskiture met for the purpose of choosing presidential electors. On this 
occasion Mr. Van Buren took his seat in the senate, and voted for the 
electoral ticket which was elected, and which gave Mr. Clinton the vote 
of the state. In supporting the nomination of Mr. Clinton, Mr. Van Bu- 
ren consulted what he believed to be the wishes of the majoiity of the 
democratic party of the state. At the same time, he was an open and de- 
cided advocate of all the strong measures proposed against Great Britain 
during the session of Congress in 181]-'12, the war included.. And, 
though in the choice of electors Mr. Clinton received the votes of some 
of the federal members of the legislature of New York, and was also sup- 
ported by that party in other states, Mr. Van Buren's relations to it were 
entirel}^ unaltered. At the same session he was placed upon the commit- 
tee of the senate to answer the governor's speech, which answer he pre- 
pared and reported. It vindicated the justice of the war, and urged a vig- 
orous prosecution of it. At the ensuing session of the legislature, which 
commenced in 1813, the political relations previously existing between 
Mr. Clinton and Mr. Van Buren were dissolved, and never again re- 
sumed. From the commencement of his legislative career, Mr. Van Bu- 
ren gave to all war measures the most decided and vigorous support ; 
among which was a plan for raising troops by classification. He sup- 
ported the re-election of Governor Tompkins, and, as chairman of the 
committee which made the nomination, he prepared the address to the re- 
publican electors of the state. 

In 1815, Mr. Van Buren received the appointment of attorney-general 
of the state of New York. The same year he was appointed by the legis- 
lature a regent of the university. In the spring of 1816 he was re-elected 
to the senate for the further period of four years. 

When the project of internal improvement in the state of New York, by 
canals from Lakes Erie and Champlain to the Hudson river, was brought 
before the legislature, in 1816, it was sustained with zeal and ability by 
Mr. Van Buren, who on this occasion received the personal thanks of 
Mr. Clinton, the great advocate of the measure, for his exertions in favor 
of the same. 

In 1817 De Witt Clinton was nominated for governor of the state of 
New York, in place of Daniel D. Tompkins, who had been elected vice- 
president of the United States. Mr. Van Buren acquiesced in this nomi- 
nation, though it was contrary to his individual wishes and opinions, and 
he had used his exertions to prevent it. The distinguished talents of Mr. 
Clinton, and his zealous efforts in promoting the great interests of the 
state, had so far won the respect and confidence of the people, that there 
was comparatively little opposition to his election, after his nomination. 
But, though he received nearly the unanimous vole of both the great po- 



376 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

litical parlies throughout the state, the result proved that it was a deceit- 
ful calm which followed the election, and that, as a large portion of the 
democratic party were deadly hostile to the newly-elected governor, the 
elements for bitter party strife were only temporarily concealed. 

We must now revert to the presidential election of 1816, for the pur- 
pose of showing Mr. Van Buren's course in that affair, and the bearing 
that election had on the politics of New York. 

During the war, Governor Tompkins and Mr. Van Buren were consid- 
ered the leaders of the democratic party in the state of New York, The 
public services and great personal popularity of Governor Tompkins, in- 
duced President Madison to offer him a seat in his cabinet, as secretary 
of state, which office, however, he declined. As the secretary of state 
was then, according to established usage, heir apparent to the presidential 
chair, and the admitted favorite of the president for the time being, Gov- 
ernor Tompkins considered the offer of Mr. Madison as a commitment on 
the part of the administration to support him for the next president. It 
was therefore expected, in the state of New York, that Tompkins would 
succeed Madison as president ; and at a celebration of the return of peace, 
at Albany, in February, 1815, a splendid transparency was displaced, with 
the names of Tompkins and Crawford inscribed thereon. This indicated 
that the latter was expected to be nominated for vice-president. 

The democratic members of the New York legislature, in February, 
1816, instructed the members of Congress from the state to sustain the 
claims of Tompkins, and Mr. Van Buren visited Washington to aid his 
friend in the nomination. But his claims were not pressed in the con- 
gressional caucus which met in March, 1816 ; the contest in that body 
was between Monroe and Crawford, and the former was 'nominated by a 
small majority over the latter. Governor Tompkins was nominated for 
vice-president, a result at which he was much disappointed. Finding 
Tompkins out of the question for president, a majority of the New York 
delegation was rather ardent in support of Crawford. Mr. Van Buren 
took no decided part in the matter. Mr. Hammond, who was one of the 
New York delegation, remarks, that " if at Albany Mr. Van Buren was 
ardent in the support of Tompkins, at Washington, to say the least, he 
was philosophically calm and cool."* 

From this time forward Mr. Van Buren co-operated with the leading dem- 
ocratic politicians of Virginia ; and when it was determined by them that 
Mr. Crawford should be the successor of Mr. Monroe as president, Mr. 
Van Buren gave him his most zealous, though unsuccessful support, in the 
political campaign of 1824. 

Having determined to oppose the administration of Governor Clinton, 
Mr. Van Buren, being then a member of the senate of the state, com- 
menced, in 1818, the organization of that portion of the democratic party 
* Hammond's Political History of New York. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 377 

who were dissatisfied with the election of the governor. Hence arose the 
formation, under his auspices, of a small but formidable and secret asso- 
ciation of politicians at the seat of the state government, which received 
from their political opponents the cognomen of " the Albany regency." 
It was composed of persons holding offices under the state and the gen- 
eral governments, and a few other influential citizens of the democratic 
party ; and by skill, position, and parly discipline, with the aid of a party 
press, this regency is supposed to have swayed the power and destinies 
of the state for more than a quarter of a century. It is proper to mention, 
however, that the existence of this Albany regency has been generally 
denied by the friends of Mr. Van Buren. 

The difficulties in the democratic party between the respective friends of 
Mr. Van Buren and Governor Clinton, soon widened into an open rupture. 
A large majority of the democrats of the state followed Mr. Van Buren, 
while most of the friends of the canal policy, and the great body of the 
federal party, with [ew exceptions, sustained Governor Clinton. The 
council of appointment being devoted to the views of Governor Clinton, in 
July, 1819, removed Mr. Van Buren from the office of attorney-general, 
the duties of which he had discharged for more than four years, during 
which period he had also been a member of the senate. 

The opposition to Governor Clinton constantly increased in violence, 
and in the senate of the state there was a majority against him during the 
whole period of his administration. The most strenuous exertions were 
made by his democratic opponents to prevent his re-election. Mr. Van 
Buren took the lead in their efforts, and the vice-president, Daniel D. 
Tompkins, was prevailed upon to become the opposing candidate for gov- 
ernor. Th^contest was close and animated, Mr. Clinton being success- 
ful by a majority of 1,457 out of 93,437 votes. The whole number 
of votes against him on his former election was but twenty-two more than 
his present majority. Both houses of the legislature, and the council of 
appointment, however, were decidedly anti-Clintonian. A restoration to 
the office of attorney-general was now tendered to Mr. Van Buren, but 
was declined by him. 

The legislature having failed to elect a senator of the United States, in 
1819, in place of Mr. Rufus King, whose term of service expired that 
year, a pamphlet was prepared by Mr. Van Buren, shortly before the 
meeting of the succeeding legislature, in 1820, in favor of the election by 
the democratic party of Mr. King to the senate for another term of six 
years. Mr. King, it will be remembered, was a federalist, and had been 
one of the most prominent leaders of that party in the United States, while 
they acted as an organized political body. Mr. Van Buren and his friends 
had refused to vote for Mr. King in the legislature of 1819, but his elec- 
tion was now urged on democrats, in consequence of his having supported 
the last war ; his revolutionary services, and his present opposition to Mr. 



378 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

Clinton, were assigned as further reasons for supporting him. The real 
object of the pamphlet was to draw in a portion of the federalists through- 
out the state, to the support of Mr. Tompkins in the then approaching 
election. The friends of Mr. Van Buren were in the minority in the 
legislature, and were, therefore, compelled to choose between Mr. King, 
or some other federalist, and a friend of Governor Clinton. The result 
was, the election of Mr. King, by the legislature, by a vote nearly unani- 
mous, the Clintonians also supporting him. 

At the same session of the legislature, a resolution was adopted, in- 
structing their senators, and requesting the representatives of the state in 
Congress, to oppose the admission of Missouri, or any other territory into 
the Union, without making the prohibition of slavery therein an indispen- 
sable condition of admission. The senate concurred in this resolution 
from the assembly without division or debate, and among the senators Mr. 
Van Buren, though it was not brought before the legislature by his agen- 
cy. Still, he must be regarded as having concurred, at that time, in the 
sentiment of the resolution thus adopted by the legislature.* 

Mr. Van Buren was, in February, 1821, elected by the legislature of 
New York, a member of the senate of the United States, in place of Na- 
than Sanford, whose term of service expired in March, 1821. Mr. San- 
ford was a democrat and a candidate for re-election, but at the legislative 
caucus, which was attended by eighty-two democratic members, Mr. Van 
Buren received fifty-eight votes, and Mr. Sanford twenty-four. The Clin- 
tonians and federalists in the legislature voted for Mr. Sanford, who re- 
ceived sixty votes, and Mr. Van Buren eighty-six votes. Thus it will be 
observed, that Mr. Sanford was the preference of a large majority of the 
legislature, and without the agency of a caucus nomination Mr. Van Bu- 
ren could not have been chosen. 

A convention to revise the constitution of the state of New York, was 
chosen by the people in 1821, and assembled in August of that year. Mr. 
Van Buren, then United States senator elect, was elected a member of 
the convention, by the democrats of Otsego county, although he then resi- 
ded in the city of Albany. 

In this convention, which comprised many of the most able and influ- 
ential men in the state, Mr. Van Buren took an active and leading part. 
There were three classes of politicians in that body : first, those opposed 
to any important changes in the old constitution of 1777, except the abo- 
lition of the council of appointment and the council of revision ; second, 
those in favor of moderate changes in the constitution, of the abolition 
of the freehold qualification for voters, and the reasonable extension of 
the elective franchise ; third, the radicals, or those in favor of universal 
suffrage, and an entire and radical change in the form of government. Mr. 
Van Buren belonged to the second of these classes, and his course in the 

• HoUand. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 379 

convention was generally conservative. He advocated an extension of 
the right of suffrage to citizens paying taxes, being householders, and 
working on the highways, or doing military duty ; he expressed his 
fears that the extension of the elective franchise contemplated by some 
of the amendments proposed, would not be sanctioned by the public 
approbation, and would occasion the rejection of the whole by the 
people. He said, "he was disposed to go as far as any man in the 
extension of rational liberty ; but he could not consent to undervalue this 
precious privilege so far as to confer it, with an indiscriminating hand, 
upon every one, black or white, who would be kind enough to condescend 
to accept it." By the first constitution of New York, no distinction 
■was made with regard to color, in the qualifications of electors. In the 
convention, a proposition to restrict the right of voting to u^hite citizens, 
was rejected by a majority of four voles. Mr. Van Buren voted with 
the majority, or in favor of continuing the right of voting to colored citi- 
zens ; but subsequently supported a proposition, which was adopted, re- 
quiring colored voters to possess a freehold estate of the value of two 
hundred and fifty dollars. Mr. Van Buren opposed the election of justi- 
ces of the peace by the people, and the convention adopted a plan pro- 
posed by him, by which the executive of the state, through the judges of the 
county courts, controlled those appointments. This plan only continued in 
operation about four years, when the constitution was amended, giving the 
choice of justices to the people. The proposition which was adopted by 
the convention to reorganize the judiciary of the state, and sanctioned by 
the party with which he acted, was opposed by Mr. Van Buren, the only 
effect of it being to displace the judges then in oflice. On the whole, it 
may be remarked, that his course in the convention to revise the constitu- 
tion, was considered honorable to him as a stateman, and, with few ex- 
ceptions, was approved by candid men of all parties. 

In December, 1821, Mr. Van Buren look his seat in the senate of the 
United States, his colleague from New York at this time being the Hon- 
orable Rufus King. On his first appearance in the senate, he was placed 
on the committee of finance, and on the committee on the judiciary. He 
took an active part in debate on most of the important subjects which were 
agitated in that branch of Congress during his senatorial career. He sup- 
ported Colonel Johnson's efforts to abolish imprisonment for debt on 
actions in the United States courts. He proposed amendments to the 
judiciary system of the United States, and advocated a bankrupt law, to 
include corporations as well as persons. With regard to the public lands, 
he was in favor of a proposition to vest the lands in the states in which 
they were situated on " some just and equitable terms." 

When the question of a successor to Mr. Monroe for the presidency 
was agitated, Mr. Van Buren took an early and decided part in favor of 
Mr. Crawford, whose election he labored to bring about by the aid of 



580 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

party machinery and discipline, particularly the system of regular nomi- 
nations, as established in the state of New York, and had been practised 
by the democratic party in previous nominations of president and vice- 
president, by a caucus of members of Congress. The congressional cau- 
cus which nominated Mr. Crawford, in February, 1824, proved a signal 
failure, as it was attended by only about one fourth of the whole number 
of the members of Congress. In the state of New York, where the 
friends of Mr. Van Buren had defeated a law proposed to provide for the 
choice of presidential electors by the people, and retained the choice in 
the legislature, Mr. Crawford only obtained five of the thirty-six electoral 
votes of the state. The election of president devolved on the house of 
representatives, and Mr. Adams was elected on the first ballot, receiving 
the vote of New York, although the friends of Mr. Van Buren adhered to 
Mr. Crawford. 

In the gubernatorial election in the state of New York, in 1824, the 
party which acted with Mr. Van Buren met with a decisive defeat, and De 
Witt Clinton was elected governor. The next year, hovt^ever, the party 
recovered its power in the state ; but Mr. Clinton was re-elected in 1826, 
and continued in office until his death, in February, 1828. 

Mr. Van Buren took an active part in the opposition which was organ- 
ized against the administration of Mr. Adams immediately after his elec- 
tion to the presidency. He opposed the mission to Panama, and most of 
the bills for internal improvement. His personal feelings were adverse to 
a high tariff of duties for protection, but as his constituents were gen- 
erally in favor of protective duties, he voted for the tariff laws of 1824 
and 1828. 

In February, 1827, Mr. Van Buren was re-elected to the United States 
senate for another term of six years, by the legislature of New York. 
Circumstances, however, soon occurred to cause his resignation. He was 
zealous and active in sustaining General Jackson for the presidency in 
opposition to Mr. Adams, in 1828. Governor Clinton, who was also fa- 
vorable to the election of Jackson, died suddenly, in February, 1828. This 
event induced the political friends of Mr. Van Buren to nominate him for 
governor of the state, to succeed Mr. Clinton, and he was elected to that 
office in November, 1828. 

Having resigned his seat in the senate of the United States, Mr. Van 
Buren entered upon the duties of the office of governor, January 1, 1829. 
His message to the legislature was remarkable for the attention bestowed 
upon banks and the currency. On the 20th of January, in a brief mes- 
sage, he introduced to the legislature the celebrated safety-fund system. 
This plan originated with the Hon. Joshua Forman, and was by him laid 
before Mr. Van Buren. It was somewhat modified by the suggestion of 
the latter, and finally adopted by the legislature. The safety-fund system 
combined the moneyed interests of the state in a league of mutual depend- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 381 

ence, but the experience of a few years proved its inadequacy to answer 
public expectation. 

Mr. Van Buren remained but a short time in the chief magistracy of his 
native state. On the 12th of March, 1829, he resigned the office of gov- 
ernor, in consequence of his appointment as secretary of state of the Uni- 
ted States. Of this appointment, General Jackson (who was said to have 
intended to have offered it to Governor Clinton, had he lived) said, in his 
letter to the democratic members of the legislature of New York, in Feb- 
ruary, 1832 : " In calling him [Mr. Van Buren] to the department of state, 
from the exalted station he then occupied, I was not influenced more by 
his acknowledged talents and public services, than by the general wish of 
the republican party throughout the Union." 

Of Mr. Van Buren's course as secretary of state we have already taken 
notice, in our account of General Jackson's administration. The causes 
of the dissolution of the cabinet have also been stated. In June, 1831, 
Mr. Van Buren retired from the office of secretary of state, and was im- 
mediately appointed by the president minister to Great Britain. He ar- 
rived in London in September, 1831, and was received with distinguished 
favor at the court of St. James. 

Soon after the meeting of Congress, the president submitted the nomi- 
nation of Mr. Van Buren to the senate. He was rejected by that body, in 
consequence of their disapproval of the instructions which he issued, while 
secretary of state, to Mr. M'Lane, our minister to England, in reference to 
the West India trade. 

The democratic part\^ condemned the rejection of Mr. Van Buren as an 
act of political persecution, and vindicated the propriety of his course. 
The democratic members of the legislature of New York addressed a let- 
ter to the president, expressing their indignation at what they deemed a 
proscriptive act of the senate, and their high respect for the public and 
private character of Mr. Van Buren. The president, in reply, assumed 
the entire responsibility of the instructions condemned by the senate ; de- 
' clared they were " the result of his own deliberate investigation and reflec- 
tion, and still appeared to him to be entirely proper and consonant to his 
public duty." 

On the 22d of May, 1832, Mr. Van Buren was nominated as a candi- 
date for vice-president, by a national democratic convention assembled at 
Baltimore, and at the same time with the renomination of General Jack- 
son for president. The result was the triumphant election of both to the 
respective offices to which they were nominated, Mr. Van Buren receiv- 
ing the same number of electoral votes as General Jackson, with the ex- 
ception of those of Pennsylvania, the democracy of which state refused to 
give him their vote ; and it was given to William Wilkins, of that state. 

Mr. Van Buren returned from England to triumph over his political op- 
ponents, by being elevated to the second office in the government. He 



382 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

was inaugurated as vice-president on the 4th of March, 1833, and presided 
over the senate for four years, when in session ; during which he had the 
good fortune to escape the censure of all parties. In 1833 he accompa- 
nied General Jackson in his tour to the eastern states. 

To secure the support of the democratic party as a candidate for the 
presidency, as successor to General Jackson, whose favor and good wishes 
he already possessed, Mr. Van Buren seems to have relied upon an 
avowal of hostility to a national bank, and on a national convention for the 
nomination of president and vice-president. Accordingly, we find him 
giving as a sentiment, at a public entertainment, " Un(?ompromising hos- 
tility to the United States bank ; the honor and interest of the country 
require it ;" which toast was adopted as a motto, by the democratic party. 
We also find the most strenuous efforts made to reconcile Pennsylvania to 
a national nominating convention, which efforts were finally successful. 

On the 20th of May, 1835, the Jackson democratic convention met at 
Baltimore, for the nomination of a candidate to succeed General Jackson 
as president, also a vice-president of the United States. About 600 dele- 
gates were in attendance ; and as all were selected as friends of Mr. Van 
Buren, he received the unanimous vote of the convention, for president. 
Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, was nominated for vice-presi- 
dent. These nominations, it was well understood, received the express 
approbation of General Jackson, and the influence of the administration 
was, of course, exercised in favor of the election of these candidates. 

The result of the vote by the electoral colleges was 170 for Mr. Van 
Buren, including Michigan (3), which was informal, and 124 for all other 
candidates. There was no choice of vice-president by the people, in con- 
sequence of the state of Virginia refusing to vote for Colonel Johnson. He 
received 147 electoral votes, including Michigan, and there were 147 for 
all other candidates. Colonel Johnson was, thereupon, elected by the sen- 
ate, agreeably to the constitution. 

Mr. Van Buren was inaugurated as president, on the fourth of March, 
1837. The history of the four years of his administration is given in an- 
other place in this volume, to which we refer for this part of his life. In 
May, 1840, he was nominated for re-election, by a convention of his po- 
litical friends, but such was the unpopularity of his measures as chief 
magistrate of the nation, that the election of 1840 resulted in the total 
defeat of Mr. Van Buren and the party with which he was connected, 
and the triumphant success of the whig candidates, General Harrison and 
Mr. Tyler, to the presidency and vice-presidency. The electoral votes 
for Harrison were 234 — for Van Buren 60. 

General Harrison succeeded Mr. Van Buren, as president, on the 4th 
of March, 1841 ; soon after which the ex-president left Washington for his 
seat at Kinderhook, Columbia county, New York, near the Hudson river, 
to which retreat he gave the name of " Lindenwold." He attended on the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 383 

occasion of the funeral honors which were paid to General Harrison in 
the city of New York, in 1841. 

Having acquired, during an active professional and political life, a large 
fortune, Mr. Van Buren retired to his estate before mentioned, to enjoy the 
possession of his wealth, and retaining the confidence of the large and 
powerful party of his countrymen which had sustained him. His friends, 
however, were not willing that he should rest under the political sentence 
which had been pronounced against him, as they deemed, under fortuitous 
circumstances. It was argued that, as an act of justice to him, he should 
be elected for another term to the presidency, to place him in history 
along side of Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson, who were consid- 
ered as the four democratic presidents, each of whom had been honored 
with a second term in the presidential chair. The most strenuous efforts, 
therefore, were made to effect the nomination of Mr. Van Buren for the 
presidency, in 1844 ; and when the democratic national convention met 
to nominate a president, in May of that year, there was an apparent ma- 
jority of his friends in that body. But a new element was introduced into 
the political canvass for the presidency, by the democratic party, namely, 
the annexation of Texas to the United States. To that measure Mr. Van 
Buren had expressed himself adverse, in some particulars, in a letter to a 
southern gentleman, which was published previous to the meeting of the 
convention. Some of his friends regretted that he had not inserted a 
clause in his letter which, looking to the certain extension of the Jimits of 
the republic, would have been satisfactory to the democrats of the south. 
After protracted ballottings, it was found that Mr. Van Buren could not 
obtain the vote of two thirds of the delegates to the convention, as required 
by their rules. His name was therefore withdrawn, and James K. Polk, 
of Tennessee, received the nomination for president. 

In the nomination of Mr. Polk, Mr. Van Buren cordially acquiesced, 
and urged upon his political friends the propriety and importance of sus- 
taining the same in good faith. By the efforts of the democrats of New 
York, the election of Mr. Polk was effected, the popular majority in that 
important state, which turned the scale in favor of the democratic candi- 
dates, being but about one per cent, on the whole number of votes. 

We conclude this brief memoir of Mr. Van Buren with the following 
notice of his personal appearance and character, from his life, by Profes- 
sor Holland, written, of course, with all the partiality of friendship : — 

" In personal appearance, Mr. Van Buren is about the middle size ; his 
form is erect (and formerly slender, but now inclining to corpulence), and 
is said to be capable of great endurance. His hair and eyes are light, his 
features animated and expressive, especially the eye, which is indicative 
of quick apprehension and close observation ; his forehead exhibits in its 
depth and expansion, the marks of great intellectual power. The physi- 
ognomist would accord to him penetration, quickness of apprehension, and 



0S4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF VAN BUREN. 

benevolence of disposition. The phrenologist would add unusual reflec- 
tive faculties, firmness, and caution. 

" The private character of Mr. Van Buren is above all censure or sus- 
picion. In the relations of father and son, of husband, brother, and friend, 
he has always displayed those excellencies of character and feeling which 
adorn human nature. Extending our view to the larger circle of his per- 
sonal friends, rarely has any man won a stronger hold upon the confidence 
and affection of those with whom he has been connected. The purity of 
his motives, his integrity of character, and the steadiness of his attach- 
ments, have always retained for him the warm affection of many, even 
among the ranks of his political opponents. 

" The ease and frankness of his manners, his felicitous powers of con- 
versation, and the general amiableness of his feelings, render him the or- 
nament of the social circle. Uniting in his character, firmness and for- 
bearance ; habitual self-respect and a delicate regard for the feelings of 
others ; neither the perplexities of legal practice, nor the cares of public 
life, nor the annoyance of party strife, have ever been able to disturb the 
serenity of his temper, or to derange for a moment the equanimity of his 
deportment. He has with equal propriety mingled in the free intercourse 
of private life, and sustained the dignity of official station." 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 



Tii-E inauguration of Martin Van Buren, as the eighth president of the 
United States, took place at the capitol, in the city of Washington, on Sat- 
urday, the 4th of March, 1837. At twelve o'clock on that day, the 
weather being remarkably pleasant, the president elect took his seat with 
his venerable predecessor, General Jackson, in a beautiful phaeton made 
from the wood of the frigate Constitution, and presented to General Jack- 
son by the democracy of the city of New York. They were escorted from 
the president's house to the capitol, through Pennsylvania avenue, by a 
body of cavalry and infantry, and were also accompanied by an immense 
concourse of citizens. After reaching the senate-chamber the procession 
Avas formed, and Mr. Van Buren, attended by the ex-president, the mem- 
bers of the senate, of the cabinet, and the diplomatic corps, led the way to 
the rostrum erected on the ascent to the eastern portico. He then deliv- 
ered his inaugural address, in clear and impressive tones, and in an easy 
and eloquent manner. At the close of the address, the oath of office was 
administered by Chief- Justice Taney. 

The language of the inaugural address, the assurances of the govern- 
ment official journal, published at the seat of government, and other dec- 
larations, satisfied the people that the measures of Mr. Van Buren's ad- 
ministration would be a continuation of those adopted by General Jackson, 
and consequently no change might be expected. The new president se- 
lected for his cabinet, John. Forsyth, of Georgia, for secretary of state ; 
Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, secretary of the treasury ; Joel R. 
Poinsett, of South Carolina, secretary of war ; Mahlon Dickerson, of New 
Jersey, secretary of the navy ; Amos Kendall, of Kentucky, postmaster- 
general ; and Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, attorney-general. All 
of these gentlemen, except Mr. Poinsett, had been appointed by Gen- 
eral Jackson to the respective offices named, and they were continued 
by Mr. Van Buren. Mr. Poinsett succeeded General Cass, who, in 1836, 
was appointed by General Jackson minister to France. 

Early in the year 1837, indications were perceived of a money pres- 
sure of unexampled severity, not produced as that of 1834 had been, by 
25 



386 ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 

the contest with the bank of the United States (for that institution was no^ 
only a state bank, and so much embarrassed as to be powerless), but other 
and more formidable causes. It was some time before those vinacquainted 
with banking operations could be induced to believe the alarm of the 
bankers in New York and other cities to be so well founded, as experience 
proved it really was. It was not until the failure of several great com- 
mercial and banking houses in New York, New Orleans, and other Atlan- 
tic cities, that the panic became general among the people. 

The specie circular issued by General Jackson in the summer of 1836, 
which we have noticed in our account of his administration, had been 
powerful in its operation upon the banks and currency. This circular, or 
order, requiring all payments for the public lands to be made in gold or 
silver, produced frequent and sometimes large drafts for specie on the 
banks. This course not only prevented the banks from extending their 
line of discount, but compelled them to commence calling in their circula- 
ting notes. 

The distribution of the surplus funds among the several states also se- 
riously embarrassed the operations of the banks, and, from the mode ia 
which it was managed, contributed to derange the currency. The banks 
with whom the accumulated surplus had been deposited, were not pre- 
pared for the distribution, inasmuch as they had presumed these funds 
would generally remain in deposite with them until the exigencies of the 
government should require its expenditure, and had, therefore, treated the 
funds of the United States as so much capital on which they could make 
loans to their customers. They had, therefore, undoubtedly, made large 
loans, relying on these government funds as an addition to their ordinary 
means, not likely soon to be called for. 

The order issued from the treasury department, in pursuance of the 
law, for the distribution of these funds among the' several states, was to the 
banks extremely embarrassing, and compelled them to call in their loans. 
They complained that the mode of distribution adopted by the secretary, 
Mr. Woodbury, was unwise and unnecessarily oppressive. 

Another cause of pecuniary embarrassment and pressure was the ex- 
cessive importation of merchandise from Europe, beyond the abilities and 
wants of the country, payments for which falling due, and American credit 
being impaired in London, occasioned a demand on the banks for specie, 
to be shipped to Europe. 

The reaction in speculation had now commenced, and this accumula- 
tion of difficulties could not be withstood by the banks. On the 10th of 
May, 1837, all the banks in the city of New York, without exception, by 
common consent, suspended payments in specie. The banks of Boston, 
Providence, Hartford, Albany, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and others in 
every quarter, on learning that the banks in New York had suspended 
specie payments, adopted the same course. On the I6th of May, the 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 387 

legislature of New York passed an act authorizing the suspension of spe- 
cie payments by the banks of that state for one year. 

During the preceding two months, unprecedented embarrassments and 
difficulties were experienced among the mercantile classes, and were felt 
in all the commercial towns in the United States ; especially in New 
York and New Orleans. The number of large failures which took place 
in New York in a short time, was about three hundred, their liabilities 
amounting to many millions. In two days, houses in New Orleans 
stopped payment, owing an aggregate of twenty-seven millions of dollars. 
In Boston one hundred and sixty-eight failures took place in six months. 

A committee was appointed by a numerous meeting of the citizens of 
New York, to proceed to Washington and request the president of the 
United States to rescind the specie circular, to defer commencing suits 
upon unpaid bonds, and to call an extra meeting of Congress. In their 
interview with the president they presented an address stating, that " un- 
der a deep impression of the propriety of confining their declarations 
within moderate limits, they affirmed, that the value of their real estate had, 
within the last six months, depreciated more than forty millions of dollars ; 
that within the preceding two months there had been more than two hun- 
dred and fifty failures of houses engaged in extensive business ; that 
within the same period a decline of twenty millions had occurred in their 
local stocks, including those railroad and canal incorporations which, 
though chartered in other states, depended chiefly upon New York for 
their sale ; that the immense amount of merchandise in their warehouses 
had, within the same period, fallen in value at least thirty per cent. ; that 
within a few weeks not less than twenty thousand individuals, depending 
upon their daily labor for their daily bread, had been discharged by tneir 
employers, because the means of retaining them were exhausted ; and 
that a complete blight had fallen upon a community heretofore so active, 
enterprising, and prosperous : the errors of our rulers," they declared, " had 
produced a wider desolation than the pestilence which depopulated our 
streets, or the conflagration which laid them in ashes." 

Several petitions from other commercial cities and towns, had been 
presented to the president, requesting that he would summon a meeting 
of Congress at an early day. The president for some time declined to act 
on the petitions, but the suspension of specie payments by the banks, and 
the consequent exigency in which the financial affairs of the government 
was placed, finally induced him to issue his proclamation, on the 15th of 
May, for the convening of Congress on the first Monday in September, on 
account of " great and weighty matters claiming their consideration." 

Previous to the suspension of specie payments by the banks, some of 
the friends of the president entertained a hope that he would afford some 
relief to the business community, by revoking the " specie circular" of the 
treasury department, which had been issued by order of General Jackson 



388 ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 

in July, 1836, requiring gold and silver in payments for the public lands ; 
but in this hope they were disappointed, and it was soon evident that 'n 
was the intention of President Van Buren to carry out the designs of his 
predecessor in establishing a specie currency ; especially in all concerns 
relating to the finances of the general government. According to the re- 
port of the secretary of the treasury, in December, 1836, the condition of 
the currency of the United States was estimated as follows at that period : 
bank paper in active circulation, one hundred and twenty millions of dol- 
lars ; specie in active circulation, twenty-eight millions ; specie in banks, 
forty-five millions. 

The extra session, being the first, of the twenty-fifth Congress, com- 
menced on the 4th of September, 1837, and continued forty-three days, 
namely, until the 16th of October. The state of parties in the house of 
representatives was exhibited in the choice of speaker. James K. Polk, 
the administration candidate, was for the second time elected to that station, 
receiving 116 votes, against 103 for John Bell (whig), and 5 scattering. 
It became evident, however, that there was in the administration ranks a 
small section, whose views respecting the currency did not coincide with 
those of the president, but were favorable to banking institutions and the 
preservation of the credit system, as applied lo the transaction of the bu- 
siness commimity. Hence arose a third party, which exercised considera- 
ble influence in many parts of the Union, and, adopting the name of " con- 
servatives," eventually became an ally of the whigs, in their opposition to 
the administration. In consequence of the course of these conservatives, 
some of the measures recommended by the president were defeated in the 
house of representatives at this and the following session. 

'fhe recommendations of the president in his message to Congress at the 
extra session, promised no relief to the people. Indeed, the opinion'that 
document distinctly expressed was, that the national legislature could do 
nothing to mitigate the evils which existed, and which, it stated, were oc- 
casioned by the unwise conduct of the business community ; that it was 
not the duty or design of tlie general government to interfere in such 
cases. The doctrine was advanced in the message, that all the govern- 
ment could do or was designed to do, was to take care of itself, and could 
not be expected to legislate with reference to the monetary concerns of 
the people. The actual condition of the government, in relation to its 
financial concerns, was stated with great clearness and precision, and 
the reasons were given which rendered the call of the extra session abso- 
lutely necessary. 

The most important recommendation of the message, was the measure 
■which received from its opponents the name of the sub-treasury scheme. 
By the friends of the administration it was called the independent treas- 
ury. As the funds of the government were in the possession of banks, 
all of which refused to pay specie, and the use of their circulating notes 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 389' 

was a violation of the act, or resolution, of Congress, passed in 1816 ; and 
the president having been elected under a pledge against a national bank, 
he recommended that the treasury of the United States should be kept by- 
public officers, and that there should be an entire and total separation of 
the business and funds of the government from those of the banks. 

The announcement of this scheme by the administration, caused great 
excitement in Congress and among the people.' It was very unfavorably 
received by the political friends of the president, in the different states, 
who were interested in banks. It was represented by the opposition, 
whigs and conservatives, as a direct attack upon the banks and what was 
called the credit system. They insisted, that if the president's views were 
carried out, the prostration and destruction of all banks would be inevita- 
ble, and that finally a metallic currency would alone constitute the circu- 
lating medium, which would be wholly inadequate to the exigencies of a 
commercial community. Another consequence which they predicted, 
assuming that the banks were to be destroyed, wats a reduction of prices, 
fatal and ruinous to the debtor.* 

The official paper at the seat of government, the Globe, having been 
zealous and active in support of the new treasury scheme, and in opposi- 
tion to the banking system, the conservatives in the house of representa- 
tives opposed the election of the publishers of that paper (Messrs. Blair 
and Rives) as printers to the house. After several ballottings, the whicrg 
joined the conservatives, and elected Thomas Allen, editor of the Madi- 
sonian, a conservative newspaper, printer to the house. 

A- bill to establish the proposed independent treasury was reported by 
Mr. Wright, chairman of the committee on finance, in the senate, and, 
after considerable discussion, passed that body by a vote of 26 ayes, to 20 
noes. In opposing the measure, Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, said, that " the 
project was neither desirable nor practicable, nor within the constitutional 
power of the general government, nor just ; and that it was contrary to the 
habits of the people of the United States, and dangerous to their liberties. 
He declared, that after the most deliberate and anxious consideration of 
which he was capable, he could conceive of no adequate remedy for the 
disorders which unhappily prevailed, which did not comprehend a national 
bank as an essential part. The great want of the country was a general 
and uniform currency, and a point of union, a sentinel, a regulator of the 
issues of the local banks ; and that would be supplied by such an institu- 
tion." No effort, however, was made at this time to introduce the ques- 
tion of a national bank, in Congress, in consequence of the well-known 
feelings of the president and his party against it. 

The sub-treasury bill from the senate was taken up in the house of rep- 
resentatives, but after an excited debate it was laid on the table, by the 
combined vote of whigs and conservatives, ayes 120, noes 107. It was 

• Hammond. 



390 ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 

thus evident that the administration were in the minority on their fa- 
vorite measure, in the popular branch of Congress. Having passed a bill 
postponing until January 1, 1839, the deposite with the states, of the fourth 
instalment of the surplus funds directed to be made with them ; acts 
authorizing the issue of ten millions of dollars in treasury-notes, for the 
immediate wants of government; appropriating $1,000,000 for the sup- 
pression of Indian hostilities in Florida ; extending the time of bonds for 
duties on imports ; and providing for adjusting the claims upon the late 
deposite banks, with a few acts of minor importance ; Congress adjourned 
without carrying out the wishes of either the people or the government, at 
this extra session. 

The second session of the twenty-fifth Congress commenced on the 4th 
of December. 1837, and continued uniil the 9th of July, 1838. 

The independent, or sub-treasury scheme was again pressed upon the 
consideration of Congress, by the president, and a bill for that purpose, 
similar to that proposed ^at the extra session, being reported in the senate, 
the subject underwent an elaborate discussion in that body. The bill was 
ably sustained by Senators Wright, Benton, and others, and opposed also 
with ability by Mr. Clay, Mr. Webster, and other whig senators. Mr. 
Clay's speech was of great length, and he endeavored to establish the fol- 
lowing proposition : " First, that it was the deliberate purpose and fixed 
design of the administration of General Jackson to establish a government 
bank — a treasury bank — to be administered and controlled by the execu- 
tive department. Secondly, that, with that view, and to that end, it was 
its aim and intention to overthrow the whole banking system, as exist- 
ing in the United Slates when that administration came into power, be- 
ginning with the bank of the United States, and. .ending with the state 
banks. Thirdly, that the attack was first confined, from considerations of 
policy, to the bank of the United States ; but that after its overthrow was 
accomplished, it was then directed, and has since been continued, against 
the state banks. Fourthly, that the present administration, by its acknowl- 
edgments, emanating from the highest and most authentic source, has suc- 
ceeded to the principles, plans, and policy, of the preceding administra- 
tion, and stands solemnly pledged to complete and perfect them.. And 
fifthly, that the bill under consideration (the sub-treasury plan) was in- 
tended to execute the pledge, by establishing, upon the ruins of the late 
bank of the United States, and the state banks, a government bank, to be 
managed and controlled by the treasury department, acting under the com- 
mands of the president of the United States." 

Among those who supported the sub-treasury bill in the senate, was Mr. 
Calhoun, of South Carolina, who, with the Soutli Carolina members in the 
house of representatives, now sustained the administration. Mr. Preston, 
the senatorial colleague of Mr. Calhoun, acted with the opposition. 

The sub-treasury bill passed the senate, but was rejected in the house 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 391 

of representatives on the 25tli of June, 1838, by 125 to 111 votes. This 
plan of finance was proposed originally in Congress in 1834, by Mr. Gor- 
don, of Virginia, but was then opposed by the friends of the administra- 
tion, and rejected. In the present instance, as at the extra session, the 
whigs and conservatives combined against the bill. 

A bill was passed at this session granting pre-emption rights to settlers 
on the public lands. Other important acts passed were the following : to es- 
tablish the territory of Iowa ; granting land for opening a canal in the terri- 
tory of Wisconsin ; to encourage the introduction and promote the culti- 
vation of tropical fruits in the United States ; making appropriations for 
lightboats and beacons, and making surveys ; authorizing the printing of 
the Madison papers ; to provide for certain harbors, and the improvement 
of navigation of certain rivers in Florida ; making an appropriation for the 
Cumberland road ; appropriating money also for suppressing Indian hos- 
tilities, and for fortifications. 

Mr. Preston, whig senator from South Carolina, introduced, in the sen- 
ate, resolutions in favor of the annexation of Texas to the United States, 
but they did not receive favorable action at this time. The independence 
of that republic had been recognised by the United States in the last year 
of General Jackson's administration. 

In June, 1838, Mr. Dickerson resigned the office of secretary of the 
navy, and James K. Paulding, of New York, was appointed in his 
place. 

During this year serious disturbances against the colonial government 
occurred in Canada, and many of the citizens of the United States, on the 
northern frontiers prepared to join them. President Van Buren, therefore, 
issued a proclamation, calling upon all the persons engaged in the schemes 
of invasion of Canada, to abandon the design ; and warning all those who 
had engaged in these criminal enterprises, if persisted in, that, " to what- 
ever condition they may be reduced, they must not expect the interference 
of the United States government, in any form, on their behalf, but would 
be left, reproached by every virtuous fellow-citizen, to be dealt with ac- 
cording to the policy and justice of that government whose dominions they 
have, in defiance of the known wishes and efforts of their own gov- 
ernment, and without the shadow of justification or excuse, nefariously 
invaded." 

Although there were many individuals largely interested in banks, who 
continued in good faith to support the democratic party, and the adminis- 
tration of Mr. Van Buren, yet it was generally believed that the great mass 
of the banking interest was brought to bear against the administration. 
The state banks, in many instances, had sustained, with all their influence, 
General Jackson, in his veto of the Unhed States bank bill, and in the 
transfer which he made of the deposites from the national to the state 
banks ; but when President Van Buren recommended the removal of the 



392 ADMIXISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 

deposites from the state banks, and the establishment of the independent 
treasury, it was quite another matter.* 

The agitation of the currency question, and a combination of causes ad- 
verse to the administration, resulted in a great political change at the 
elections in the important state of New York, in 1837 and 1838. The 
influence of these elections in the native state of the president, which had 
previously sustained him by large majorities, could not fail to act upon 
other stales ; and it was soon evident, notwithstanding partial successes 
of the democratic party in some of the states, that the administration was 
gradually declining in popularity. 

The twenty-fifth Congress held its third session from the 3d of Decem- 
ber, 1838, to the expiration of its term, on the 3d of March, 1839. But 
few acts of general interest were passed. Among them may be named 
an act for preventing and suppressing Indian hostilities ; this law related 
particularly to the difficulties with the Seminole tribe in Florida. The 
war with these Indians was continued during several years, and large 
sums were expended in maintaining it. In 1836, one million and a half 
of dollars were appropriated to prosecute that unfortunate contest. In 
January, 1837, two millions more were voted by Congress for the pur- 
pose. These appropriations were made before the retirement of General 
Jackson. At the extra session, in October, 1837, and in the two suc- 
ceeding sessions, large amounts were again appropriated. When the dif- 
ficulty arose with the Seminoles, President Jackson supposed that it would 
soon be terminated. And no one, at that time, had any reason to suppose 
that it would continue for years, and have cost the government eight or ten 
millions.! 

Another act was passed at this session, locating and providing for the 
Seminole Indians, who had been removed from Florida ; another abolish- 
ing imprisonment for debt in certain cases. The aspect of our relations 
with Great Britain was at this time threatening, in consequence of the 
difficulty respecting the northeast boundary. Congress, therefore, passed 
an act giving to the president additional powers for the defence of the 
United States. 

During the summer of 1839, President Van Buren visited the state of 
New York, for the first time since his election. He travelled through the 
state, stopping at the principal cities and villages. He was received with 
public honors, and followed by processions of citizens, civil and military. 
In an address made to him by Mr. Edmonds, formerly a state senator, 
upon his arrival at New York, he made some remarks which rendered it 
necessary for Mr. Van Buren to speak of political parties and his own 
political friends, and of course to express his strong attachment to those 
friends. This gave occasion to the opposition to represent, that instead 
of coming on a visit to the whole people, as a president of the United 
* Hammond. t Bradford. 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 393 

States ought to do, he was on an elect ioneering tour, for the sole purpose 
of stimulating his friends to more active exertions, and of recruiting their 
dilapidated ranks by proselytes whom he was to gain from his political op- 
ponents. Hence everything he did, and every word he uttered, was the 
subject of the most critical and jealous scrutiny.* 

In the election of members of the twenty-sixth. Congress, there had 
been a considerable gain for the whigs and conservatives, and, until the 
fall of 1839, it appeared probable that there would be an opposition ma- 
jority in the house of representatives. But the friends of the administra- 
tion made a desperate rally in a few of the last states which chose rep- 
resentatives to the twenty-sixth Congress, and succeeded in returning a 
small majority of the members elect, leaving out of view five of the six 
representatives from the state of New Jersey, whose seats were contested. 
The full returns of members elected to the house of representatives 
were reported to stand thus : administration 119, opposition 118, and five 
members from New Jersey claimed by both parties, the certificates of elec- 
tion being given to the whig candidates, and their seats contested by the 
administration candidates. In this situation of affairs, intense interest was 
felt, throughout the country, with regard to the meeting of Congress. 

The twenty-sixth Congress met on the 2d of December, 1839. Every 
member elect of the house of representatives was present, except Mr. 
Kempshall (whig), from Monroe county. New York, who was detained by 
sickness in his family. On the assembling of the house, the clerk of the last 
house, Mr. Garland, a friend of the administration, agreeably to the usual 
custom, commenced calling the roll ; and having called the members from 
the several New England states and the state of New York, and one of 
the six members from the state of New Jersey, who all brought the regu- 
lar certificates, proposed to pass by the other five (whose rights to seats 
would be contested) till the members from the rest of the states should be 
called. This brought on a long, animated, and disorderly debate. Scenes 
of excitement and confusion continued until the 5th, when Mr. John Quincy 
Adams, of Massachusetts, addressed the members, and called upon them 
to organize, by choosing a chairman pro tern: Thereupon Mr. Rhett, of 
South Carolina, nominated Lewis Williams, of North Carolina, as chair- 
man : he declined ; when Mr. Rhett nominated John Quincy Adams, who 
was immediately chosen chairman pro tern., and entered upon the duties 
of the same. The debate respecting the contested seats from New Jer- 
sey was continued from day to day till, on the 16th of December, Robert 
M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, an opposition member (but in favor of the sub- 
treasury), was elected speaker on the 1 1th ballot. He received 119 votes, 
to 113 for all others. On the 17th, the members of the house of repre- 
sentatives were sworn, with the exception of the five disputed members 
from New Jersey. The whigs having the certificates of election, under 

• Hammond. 



394 ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 

tlie broad seal of the governor, now came forward and demanded, as their 
right, to be sworn, which gave rise to a new and and animated debate, and 
on the 20th the following resolution was decided in the negative, by a vote 
of 112 to 116: "Resolved, That the representatives of the twenty-sixth 
Congress, now present, do advise and request the speaker to administer 
the oath required by law, to the five gentleman from the state of New 
Jersey who have presented credentials to the speaker and demand to be 
sworn." On the 21st the house completed its organization, by the elec- 
tion of a clerk ; and on the 24th the president's message was delivered, 
just three weeks after the regular time. 

A national convention of the whig party was held at Harrisburg, Penn- 
sylvania, on the 4th of December, 1839, for the purpose of nominating 
candidates for president and vice-president of the United States. Great 
difference of opinion prevailed among the whigs, with respect to a suitable 
candidate for president, regard being especially had to the importance of 
nominating one upon whom the different elements of which the opposition 
to the administration was composed could unite with the cordiality and 
zeal required to be effectual. 

It M^as the expectation of a large proportion of the whig party, espe- 
cially of those who had been originally opposed to the administration of 
General Jackson, that Henry Clay, of Kentucky, would receive the nomi- 
nation of the national convention at Han'isburg, as the opposition candi- 
date for president. Some time before the assembling of that convention, 
it had been proclaimed that a clear majority of the whole number of del- 
egates had been chosen as friendly to the nomination of Mr. Clay. Yet, 
during the autumn of the year 1839, notwithstanding the unpopularity 
of the administration, the whig party met with defeats in the elections in 
Tennessee, Georgia, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylva- 
nia, and Maine. In New Jersey they held the legislature, with a strong 
majority against them in the popular vote. In New York the whig ma- 
jority in the state was about 4,000 on the vote for senators, against 10,000 
in 1838, and 15,000 in 1837. In North Carolina the whig triumph was 
not of a decisive character. These results showed that the opposition 
were losing in 1839 the advantages they had gained in 1837 and 1838, and 
this cast a shadow over the spirits of the reflecting friends of Mr. Clay. 
Under these circumstances, many of those friends began to doubt the ex- 
pediency of placing him in nomination in opposition to Mr. Van Buren ; par- 
ticularly when it was known that the friends of the administration were 
desirous that Mr. Clay should be the opposition candidate. In that case, 
inasmuch as they believed that gentleman could not concentrate the oppo- 
sition vote in his favor, they anticipated an easy victory for the democratic 
party at the approaching election. 

Mr. Clay himself seemed to acquiesce in the doubts expressed by some 
of his friends, as to his own comparative strength with the whig party. lu 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN, 395 

the summer of 1839, he made a visit, for health and recreation, to the 
country on the lakes, Canada, and the state of New York. At the city 
of Bufi'a'lo he yielded to the request of his friends, to address the people 
on the state of public affairs. Alluding to the approaching nomination and 
election of president, he said : " To correct past evils and to avert im- 
pending dangers, we see no elfectual remedy, but in a change of our ru- 
lers. The opposition constitutes the majority — unquestionably the major- 
ity — of the nation. A great responsibility, therefore, attaches to it. If 
defeated, it will be defeated by its own divisions, and not by the merits 
of the principles of its opponents. These divisions are at the same time 
our weakness and their strength. 

" Are we not, then, called upon, by the highest duties to our country, to 
its free institutions, to posterity, and to the world, to rise above all local 
prejudices, and personal partialities, to discard all collateral questions, to 
disregard every subordinate point, and, in a genuine spirit of compromise 
and concession, uniting, heart and hand, to preserve for ourselves the 
blessings of a free government, wisely, honestly, and faithfully adminis- 
tered, and as we received them from our fathers, to transmit them to our 
children ? Should we not justly subject ourselves to eternal reproach, if 
we permitted our differences about mere men to bring defeat and disaster 
upon our cause ? Our principles are imperishable, but men have but a 
fleeting existence, and are themselves liable to change and corruption 
during its brief continuance. 

" If my name creates any obstacle to union and harmony, away with it, 
and concentrate upon some individual more acceptable to all branches of 
the opposition. What is a public man worth, who is not ready to sacri- 
fice himself for the good of his country? I have unaffectedly desired re- 
tirement ; I yet desire it, when, consistently with the duties and obligations 
which I owe, I can honorably retire." 

In the ranks of the opposition to the administration were many who had 
formerly supported the election of General Jackson, and still retained a 
prejudice against Mr. Clay ; there were also in the same ranks, large 
numbers of anti-masons who were unwilling to support a mason for the 
presidency, and Mr. Clay had been a member of the lodge ; then came 
the anti-tariff whigs in the southern states, and the squatters on the public 
lands, at the west ; with both of which classes Mr. Clay was unpopular, 
from the measures advocated by him in Congress being adverse to their 
views and feelings. In view of these circumstances, and believing that to 
command success the whig candidate for the presidency must receive the 
united support of the different branches of the opposition, many of the 
leading whigs exerted themselves to prevent the nomination of Mr. Clay. 
It was even charged by those friends who were anxious for his nomina- 
tion, that intriguers were busy, before the meeting of the convention, by 
correspondence and otherwise, in circulating false reports with regard to 



896 ADMINISTRATION- OF VAN BUREN. 

Mr. Clay's unpopularity, and thus influencing the election of delegates 
and their action in the convention. 

On the meeting of the convention at Harrisburg, three names were pre- 
sented as candidates for the nomination of a president of the United States, 
namely, Henry Clay, of Kentucky, General William Henry Harrison, of 
Ohio, and General Winfield Scott, of the United States army; all three of 
whom were natives of Virginia. Twenty-two states were represented 
in the convention, and on an infornial ballot per capita, it was found 
that Mr. Clay had a decided plurality, but neither of the candidates had 
a clear majority of the delegates. It was then determined to vote by 
states, each state to be entitled to as many votes in the convention as it 
had electoral votes. On the first ballot, 103 votes were given to Clay, 94 
to Harrison, and 57 to Scott ; after which, each delegation compared 
views, and endeavored to ascertain which of the three candidates had the 
best prospects of success, if nominated. The result of their inquiries was 
a decided pi*ponderance of chances in favor of General Harrison, and, 
after being in session three days, the convention took a final ballot, when 
Harrison received 148 votes, Clay 90, and Scott 16. William H. Harri- 
son was therefore declared duly nominated as the whig candidate for 
president. John Tyler, of Virginia, was unanimously nominated for vice- 
president. Mr. Tyler had been a candidate for the same office in 1836; 
was now a member of the convention, and had been anxious for the nom- 
ination of Mr. Clay. 

Those friends of Mr. Clay in the convention who had adhered to him 
as the best candidate, expressed their cordial concurrence in the decision 
in favor of General Harrison. A letter from Mr. Clay to one of the dele- 
gates was read, in which he remarked, that " if the deliberation of the 
convention should lead them to the choice of another, as the candidate of 
the opposition, far from feeling any discontent, the nomination would have 
his best wishes, and receive his cordial support." 

The example of Mr. Clay was followed throughout the Union, notwith- 
standing the first feelings of disappointment with which the decision of the 
convention was received by many. The nomination of Harrison and 
Tyler was everywhere popular, and united in its support the entire force 
of the opposition. 

The national democratic convention, consisting of about 250 members, 
from twenty-one states, met at Baltimore on the 5th of May, 1840. Mr. 
Van Buren was unanimously nominated for president, and the convention 
resolved to make no nomination for vice-president, leaving each state to 
make its own nomination of a candidate for that office. The principal 
candidates nominated in the different states for vice-president, were the 
incumbent, Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, and James K. Polk, of 
Tennessee. 

The early part of the first session of Congress was taken up, in the 



ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BDREN. 397 

house, in discussions respecting the contested seats of the New Jersey 
members. That matter being settled, by admitting the democratic claim- 
ants to the seats, the house proceeded to the consideration of the subjects 
submitted to them by the president. Long and able debates took place on 
the bill for establishing an " independent treasury," which had been twice 
rejected by the last Congress. It was now passed, toward the close of 
the session, and was signed by the president on the 4th of July, 1840, 
when it became a law. A bankrupt law being much called for by 
the trading community, a bill was introduced at this session, and 
passed the senate, but was laid on the table in the house of repre- 
sentatives, 101 to 89. 

But few laws of general interest were passed at this session. Appro- 
priations for fortifications, and for the usual expenditures of government, 
were made. An act was passed to refund to Matthew Lyon the amount, 
with interest, paid by him as a fine for violating the sedition law. 

Some changes took place in the cabinet, in addition to those already 
mentioned. In 1838 Benjamin F. Butler resigned as attorney-general, 
and Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, was appointed in his place; in 1839 
Mr. Grundy resigned, and Henry D. Gilpin, of Pennsylvania, received 
the appointment in his place ; Amos Kendall resigned the office of post- 
master-general, and John M. Niles, of Connecticut, was appointed in his 
place, on the 25th of May, 1840. 

The elections for state officers in several of the states, during the sum- 
mer and autumn of 1840, indicated the success of the whigs at the ap- 
proaching presidential election. The contest of the two great parties at 
the latter, was the most exciting and arduous ever witnessed in the Uni- 
ted States. Electoral tickets in favor of the re-election of Mr. Van Buren 
were formed in every state in the Union, and the whigs also nominated 
electors in every state except South Carolina. 

A third party, in favor of the abolition of slavery, had also been for 
some time organized, and now nominated as a candidate for president, 
James G. Birney, of Michigan. 

The result of the election was the success of the whig candidates, Har- 
rison and Tyler, by a large majority in the electoral colleges and on the 
popular vote. The electoral votes stood, for president, Harrison 234, Van 
Buren, 60 ; for vice-president, Tyler 234, R. M. Johnson 48, L. W. Taze- 
well 11, James K. Polk 1. 

The second session of the twenty-sixth Congress was held from the 
7th of December, 1840, to the 3d of March, 1841, when their term ex- 
pired. Very few public acts of interest or importance were passed at 
this session. Appropriations were made for certain fortifications, and for 
Indian affairs ; and an act was passed authorizing another issue of treas- 
ury-notes. A bankrupt law was again discussed, but was not definitely- 
acted upon. 



393 ADMINISTRATION OF VAN BUREN. 

In the senate Mr. Clay offered the following resolution, to test the dis- 
position of the administration party to conform to the expression of public 
opinion, by repealing the sub-treasury law : " Resolved, That the act en- 
titled, ' an act for the collection, safe-keeping, transfer, and disbursement 
of the public revenues,' ought to be forthwith repealed, and that the com- 
mittee on finance be instructed to report a bill accordingly." This reso- 
lution was rejected by the senate, and the repeal of the law was left for 
the new administration. 

The public expenditures during this administration greatly exceeded 
those of any preceding four years, since the war with Great Britain, ex- 
clusive of the public debt and the Florida Indian war. Public agents 
■were multiplied, and increased compensation, in many cases, allowed 
them for their services. Large suras were lost to the national treasury by 
the defalcation of public officers, and the failure of deposite banks. 

The character of Mr. Van Buren's administration is, of course, differ- 
ently estimated by his countrymen, according to their political bias or 
preferences, and our readers may form their own estimate, from a perusal 
of the preceding brief narrative of the leading political events of this ex- 
citing period. 

Although a majority of the house of representatives, in the twenty- 
fifth Congress, was opposed to his administration, or some of his leading 
measures, Mr. Van Buren did not exercise the veto power during the four 
years of his presidential term. 

A writer in the Democratic Review for April, 1840, makes the follow- 
ing comparison of this with former democratic administrations : — 

" The great event of President Jackson's administration was the contest 
with the bank of the United States, and its destruction as a federal institu- 
tion — that of Madison's was the war — while Jefferson's was rather a gen- 
eral revolution of the anti-democratic spirit and policy of the preceding 
administration, than marked by any single salient point of such historical 
prominence as to give its character and name to the period. The great 
event of Mr. Van Buren's administration, by which it will hereafter be 
known and designated, is the divorce of bank and state, in the fiscal affairs 
of the federal government, and the return, after half a century of deviation, 
to the original design of the constitution." 

The same writer informs us that Mr. Van Buren remarked to a friend, 
previous to writing his message recommending the independent treasury : 
" We can not know how the iiumediate convulsion may result, but the 
people will, at all events, eventually come right, and posterity at least will 
do me justice. Be the present issue for good or for evil, it is for posterity 
that I will write this message." 




/c> J9- //oyl 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



The fami]y of Harrison is one of the most ancient and honorable in the 
history of Virginia. Among the early settlers of the colony was a lineal 
descendant of that General Harrison who bore a distinguished part during 
the civil wars of England, in the army of the Commonwealth. 

Benjamin Harrison (of the same stock), the father of the subject of this 
memoir, was one of the signers of the declaration of independence, and 
among the most prominent of the illustrious men of his eventful day, hav- 
ing filled the executive chair of the " Old Dominion" at a period when 
moral daring and personal fearlessness were essential to the incumbent of 
that station. He was previously an active and influential member, both of 
the house of burgesses in Virginia, and of the continental Congress. Of 
the former body he was repeatedly chosen speaker, and in the latter, in 
June, 1776, he introduced the resolution which declared the independence 
of the colonies, and on the following fourth of July, as chairman of the 
committee of the whole, he reported the more formal declaration to 
which his signature is affixed. Governor Harrison died in 1791, after 
the most eminent public services, and the expenditure of an ample fortune 
in the cause of his country. 

William Henry Harrison, the third and youngest son of the preceding, 
and ninth president of the United States, was born on the 9lh of Febru- 
ary, 1773, at Berkeley, on the James river, in Charles city county, Vir- 
ginia. On the death of his father, he was placed under the guardianship 
of his intimate friend, Robert Morris, of Pennsylvania, the great financier 
of the revolution. Young Harrison was educated at Hampden Sidney 
college, in his native state, and afterward applied himself to the study of 
medicine as a profession. But before he had completed his course of 
studies as a physician, the barbariiies of the Indians upon the western 
frontiers excited a feeling of indignation throughout the country. Har- 



400 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON, 

rison resolved to give up his profession and join the army raised for the 
defence of the Ohio frontier. His guardian, Mr. Morris, attempted to 
dissuade him from his purpose, but his resolution was not to be shaken, 
and on communicating with General Washington, that distinguished man 
cordially approved of the patriotic determination of the son of his de- 
ceased friend and associate. 

At the age of nineteen, Harrison received from President Washington 
the commission of ensign in a regiment of artillery, and joined his corps 
at Fort Washington, on the Ohio, in 1791. A reinforcement was ordered 
to march for Fort Hamilton, on the Miami, a task which it required no or- 
dinary degree of courage to accomplish, as they had to pass through for- 
ests infested by hordes of the hostile tribes, and Harrison was chosen to 
the command of the body of men forming the escort. The dexterity and 
skill which he displayed in the prosecution of this arduous duty, gained 
for him the approbation of his commanding officer. General St. Clair. He 
rapidly gained the entire confidence of his officers, and in 1792 was .pro- 
moted to the rank of lieutenant. 

During the following year Harrison joined the new army under the 
command of General Anthony Wayne, an officer whose intrepidity and 
daring impetuosity, accompanied at the same time with consummate skill, 
during the war of the revolution, obtained for him the title of " Mad An- 
thony." It was a period, indeed, worthy of such a man, for the repeated 
successes and incursions of the savage enemy had not only infused among 
the people generally, but even throughout the army itself, such terror and 
dread of these merciless foes, as greatly to paralyze their energies, and to 
render the duties of the commander extremely arduous and difficult. 
The instructions, indeed, which were forwarded by Congress to Gen- 
eral Wayne, contained the following ominous expression : " Another 
defeat would prove inexpressibly ruinous to the reputation of the gov- 
ernment ;" and consequently, in such a critical juncture, every avail- 
able facility was rendered him. On the 25th of May, 1792, he repaired 
to Pittsburg, which was selected as the place of rendezvous. The 
newly-organized army consisted of a major-general, four brigadier-gen- 
erals, with their respective staffs, the commissioned officers, and over five 
thousand rank and fde ; which was designated, " the -legion of the United 
States." Although this collective force had the effect of partially restor- 
ing the spirit and energy of the soldiers, they continued to desert in con- 
siderable numbers. To remedy this evil, General Wayne applied him- 
self at all intervals of leisure, to the disciplining of his troops, with unre- 
mitting assiduity. Thus it must be obvious, that the early military career 
of Harrison had but few attractions for those who were not, like him, ac- 
tuated solely by the true spirit of generous patriotism. 

Finding all amicable negotiations with the Indians unavailing, no alter- 
native was left to General Wayne but to adopt the most rigid and decisive 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 401 

measures ; accordingly we find him breaking up his winter quarters, about 
the end of April, 1793, and transporting his army in boats down the Ohio 
to Fort Washington, an outpost situated upon the site now occupied by the 
city of Cincinnati. Having at length received instructions from the sec- 
retary of war to commence active operations, he left Fort Washington in 
October, 1793, and advanced with his army along the southwestern branch 
of the Miami, where he took up his position, and erected fortifications. 
To this post he gave the name of Greenvijle, and here the army went into 
winter quarters. General Wayne sent a detachment to take possession 
of the ground on which General St. Clair and his army had been defeated 
by the Indians two years before. Harrison volunteered for the service, 
and was accepted by the commander. 

The battle-ground was taken possession of by the troops, and a fortifi- 
cation erected, to which the name of Fort Recovery was given. The 
bones of the soldiers slain on the fatal 4th of November, 1791, were col- 
lected, and interred with military honors. The artillery lost on that occa- 
sion were recovered ; and on the return of the troops from the expedition, 
the name of Lieutenant Harrison, among others, was mentioned by Gen- 
eral Wayne, in his general order of thanks to the officers and men for 
their gallant conduct on the occasion. 

On the 30th of June, 1794, a fierce attack was made by large numbers 
, of the Indians, upon the newly-constructed works at Fort Recovery ; they 
were, however, repeatedly repulsed, and the arrival of a body of militia 
from Kentucky enabled General Wayne to force them to retreat with 
great loss. 

Being reinforced by a body of mounted volunteers from Kentucky. 
General Wayne advanced seventy miles to Grand Glaize,in the very heart 
of the Indian territory. Here he erected a fort which he called Defiance, 
at the confluence of the Maumee and Au Glaize rivers. 

Agreeably with his instructions. General Wayne renewed his overtures 
of peace, which again being rejected by the Indians, he prepared to bring 
them to a decisive settlem.ent. In the heroic engagement or battle of the 
Maumee rapids, which ensued, on the 20th of August, 1794, the consum- 
mate skill of the general, as well as the valor of his troops, were alike re- 
splendent with the important consequences which resulted from the action. 
In the official account of this battle, we also find the name of Lieutenant 
Harrison complimented by the commander-in-chief as his '' faithful and 
gallant aid-de-camp," in having " rendered the most essential service by 
communicating his orders in every direction, and for his conduct and 
bravery, in exciting the troops to press for victory." The Indians now 
proposed to capitulate with General Wayne, and the result was, a treaty 
of peace was concluded, by which the United States obtained cessions 
of considerable tracts of land, as well as secured tranquillity to the border 

settlements. The news of Wayne's victory had a favorable effect upon 
26 



402 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISOW. 

our pending negotiations in London, and was supposed to have enabled 
the American special minister, Mr. Jay, to secure the assent of Lord 
Granville to the surrender to the United States of all the forts held and 
occupied by the British in the northwest, within the jurisdiction of our 
government. Thus undisputed possession of the territory northwest of the 
Ohio was obtained, and emigration to that country received a new and 
favorable impulse. 

Not long after the close of this campaign, Harrison was promoted to the 
rank of captain ; and as an additional proof of the confidence reposed in 
his discretion and ability, by General Wayne, he was placed in command 
of Fort Washington. W^hile at this place (where Cincinnati now stands), 
being now about twenty-one years of age, he married the daughter of John 
Cleves Symmes, the founder of the Miami settlements. " She has been," 
says Mr. Hall in his memoir, " the faithful companion of this distinguished 
patriot during the various perils and vicissitudes of his eventful life, and 
still lives to witness the maturity of his fame, and the honors paid him by 
a grateful country." 

He continued in the army till the close of the year 1797, when, soon 
after the death of General Wayne, as peace had been ratified with the In- 
dians, and the opportunity to serve his country in the field appeared to 
exist no longer, he resigned his commission. Scarcely had this event 
transpired, than he was appointed, by President Adams, secretary and ex 
officio lieutenant-governor of the northwestern territory. While in this 
station, in October, 1799, he was elected, by the legislature of that terri- 
tory, their first delegate to Congress. He was at this time about twenty- 
six years of age, and took his seat in the house of representatives, at the 
first session of the sixth Congress, in 1799. Previous to proceeding to 
the seat of government, he resigned his office of secretary of the territory. 
In 1798, the northwestern territory contained five thousand white male 
inhabitants, and was admitted as a matter of right to the second grade of 
governmeirf^rovided for in the ordinance of 1787. At that time great 
unanimity prevailed in the territory on political questions ; though the 
states were rent, and almost torn asunder, by party strife. The election 
of the elder Adams had met with general approbation among the people of 
the territory, and resolutions had been passed at popular meetings to sus- 
tain his administration, against the encroachments of France. An address 
was adopted by the legislature of 1799, to John Adams, president of the 
United States, approving of his administration. But few individuals were 
to be found who then advocated the election of Mr. Jefferson against Mr. 
Adams. Harrison having early imbibed democratic opinions, was one of 
the few who preferred Jefferson. His election as delegate to Congress 
was not eflected by a party vote ; the same legislature which adopted the 
address to Mr. Adams with only five dissenting votes, elected Harrison by 
eleven votes, against ten for Arthur St. Clair, Jr. 



BfOGRArHlCAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 403 

Thougli he represented the territory but one year in Congress, Harrison 
obtained some important advantages for his constituents. He introduced 
a joint resolution to subdivide the surveys of the public lands, and to 
offer them for sale in small tracts ; he succeeded in getting that measure 
through both houses, in opposition to the interest of speculators who 
•were, and who wished to be, the retailers of land to the poorer class of the 
community. His proposition became a law, and was hailed as the most 
beneticent act that Congress had ever done for the territory. It put it in 
the power of everj'^ industrious man, however poor, to become a freeholder, 
and to lay a foundation for the future support and comfort for his family. 
At the same session, he obtained a liberal extension of time for the pre- 
emptioners in the northern part of the Miami purchase, which enabled 
them to secure their farms, and eventually to become independent and 
even wealthy.* 

Congress, at that session, divided the northv/estern territory, by estab- 
lishing the new territory of Indiana, of which Harrison was appointed 
governor. He also received the appointment of superintendent of Indian 
affairs, and resigned his seat in Congress. 

The new territory of Indiana then included not only the present state 
of Indiana, but those of Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. The seat of 
government was at Vincennes, a village on the Wabash. This large ex- 
tent of territory, however, contained but a scanty population, and therefore- 
according to the laws of the United States, the executive authority of the 
territorial government was very extensive. The governor possessed the 
power of negativing bills passed by the territorial legislature, of enforcing 
the laws, of the appointment of magistrates, of making townships, confirm- 
ing grants of lands, and other equally onerous duties ; which rendered the 
office one of peculiar and important responsibility. To one of less rigid 
integrity and scrupulous regard for the public interest, the opportunity was 
offered for much personal aggrandizement, and the acquisition of great 
wealth ; but this, it is well known, was never dreamed of by the individual 
who then occupied the trust. He never availed himself of the opportunity 
to enhance his own private interests, directly or indirectly ; and his honor 
and disinterested integrity were not even suspected. ' 

Besides being superintendent of Indian affairs, he was made commander- 
in-chief of the militia, and all the officers below the rank of general re- 
ceived their commissions from him. In 1803, Mr. Jefferson appointed 
him sole commissioner for treating with the Indians. By virtue of this 
authority, Harrison negotiated, in 1804, a treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, 
establishing amicable relations with those tribes, and obtaining the cession 
of the largest tract of country ever yielded by the Indians at one time since 
the settlement of America^, consisting of upward of fifty millions of acres 
of the valuable region between the river Illinois and the Mississippi, with 
• Judge Burnet's Letters. 



404 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 

a northern boundary stretching from the head of Fox river to a point en 
the Wisconsin, thirty-six miles above its mouth. Considerable tracts of 
land between the Dhio and the Wabash, and extending from Vincennes 
westward to the Mississippi, were likewise purchased by annuities, from 
the Delaware and Miami Indians. 

Such was the high estimation with which his conduct as governor was 
regarded, that for a period of thirteen years, at the termination of every 
successive term of office, he was reappointed at the earnest solicitation of 
the people of the territory, and with the public expression of the most flat- 
tering approbation on the part of the president of the United States ; and 
this, notwithstanding the changes in the administration — his first appoint- 
ment having been made by Mr. Adams, his second and third by Mr. Jef- 
ferson, and the fourth by Mr. Madison. 

During the year 1806, the plans of the general government for the civ- 
ilizing and conciliating the Indian tribes, were entirely frustrated by the 
intrigues of the two celebrated chiefs of the Shawnee tribe, Tecumseh, 
and his brother, the Prophet. The aim of these chiefs was, to induce all 
tlie surrounding tribes to form a common league against the United States, 
for the purpose of preventing the settlements of the whites from being ex- 
tended farther west, and by making a simultaneous attack on the frontier 
settlements, to expel the whites from the valley of the west. The Ameri- 
can government was informed that British emissaries from Canada were 
employed in forming alliances with the most powerful chiefs, and foment- 
ing their hostility against the people of the United States. 

A variety of circumstances invested the Prophet with a prodigious in- 
fluence over the tribes ; he is said, indeed, to have possessed the faculty 
of appealing to them more eloquently and gracefully than almost any other 
Indian. He resorted to every imposture and stratagem of which even an 
Indian is capable, for the furtherance of his project ; asserting, among 
other absurdities, that he possessed the power of preventing the bullets of 
the enemy from taking efl^ect upon his adherents. 

In the course of the subsequent year. Governor Harrison received intel- 
ligence of the hostile demonstration of the congregated tribes ; in conse- 
quence of which he sent a messenger to the Shawnees, strongly repre- 
hending their conduct, and warning them to refrain from further listening 
to the fatal instructions of the Prophet. The deluded and superstitious 
Indians, however, disregarding the admonition^ continued to collect in 
great numbers in the vicinity of Fort Wayne, and having entirely neg- 
lected their cornfields, they soon began to find themselves in a state bor- 
dering upon starvation. Again, in the hope of conciliating them, the gov- 
ernor, with his accustomed humanity and policy, ordered them supplies 
forthwith from the public stores. 

The Prophet had now selected as his residence, a spot situated on the 
upper part of the Wabash, called Tippecanoe, where his infatuated fol- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 405 

lowers soon rejoined liim. In July he visited the governor, when, with a 
cunning and duphcity common to his race, he loudly protested against the 
evils of war and the use of spirituous liquors, and affected the greatest de- 
sire for amity with the Americans. Governor Harrison was, however, too 
shrewd to be thus imposed upon by these specious pretences, and in his 
reply told him, that he might come forward and exhibit any title he might 
have to the lands transferred by the treaty, and that if it was found to be 
just and equitable, they would be restored, or an ample equivalent given 
for them. But the results of the interview proved anything but satisfactory 
to the absurd requirements of the Prophet* as he claimed all the lands that 
had formerly belonged to the several tribes, and insisted that their dispo- 
sal could not have been valid but with the consent of all the tribes in com- 
mon. Accordingly, he redoubled his exertions for the concentration of the 
western tribes, studiously guarding his movements from the governor, lest 
he should become apprized of his intentions. He had about him, at this 
ime, one thousand warriors, and these continued to commit the most atro- 
cious deeds of depredation along the frontier, till at length even tne gov- 
ernor's house was scarcely considered secure from their hostile attacks. 

In September, 1809, a council was convened at Fort Wayne, at which 
Governor Harrison negotiated with the Miamies, Delawares, Pottawatomies, 
and Kickapoos, for purchasing a large tract of country on both sides of 
the Wabash, extending along that river more than sixty miles above Vin- 
cennes. Tecumseh, who was at this time absent on a visit to some dis- 
tant tribes, expressed, on his return, great dissatisfaction, and threatened 
the lives of some of the chiefs who had concluded the treaty. On hear- 
ing this, the governor ir^vited him to come to Vincennes, with the direc- 
tion that he should not be allowed to bring with him more than thirty 
warriors ; this restriction, however, he evaded, on the pretext of suspect- 
ing some treachery on the part of the Americans, and he, instead, brought 
with him four hundred men, armed. This circumstance alone was suffi- 
cient to excite the suspicions of the governor, but when, added to this, the 
chief refused to hold the council at the appointed place, which was under 
the portico of the governor's house, and insisted on having it take place 
under some adjacent trees, his apprehensions were still greater. At this 
council, held on the 12th of August, 1810, Tecumseh again complained 
of the alleged injustice of the sale of their lands ; to which the governor 
replied, that as the Miamies had found it to their interesfr to make the dis- 
posal, the Shawnees, from a distant part of the country, could have no 
just ground for remonstrance, or right to control them in their disposing 
of the properly. Tecumseh fiercely exclaimed, " It is false !" and giving 
a signal to his warriors, they sprang upon their feet, and seizing their 
war-clubs and tomahawks, they brandished them in the air, ferociously 
fixing their eyes upon the governor. The military escort of Harrison on 
the occasion numbered only twelve, and they were not near his person, 



406 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISOW. 

having been directed by him to retire for shelter from the heal, undef 
some adjacent trees. 

In tliis critical moment of excitement, the guard immediately advanced, 
and would have instantly fired upon the infuriated Indians, had it not been 
for the coolness and self-possession of Harrison, who, restraining them, 
and placing his hand upon his sword, said, in a calm, but authoritative 
tone, to Tecumseh : " You are a bad man : I will have no further talk 
with you. You must now take your departure from these settlements, and 
hasten immediately to your camp." On the following day, however, find- 
ing he had to deal with one so Sauntless, Tecumseh solicited another in- 
terview, apologizing for his insolent aflront. The precaution was now 
taken to defend the town, and place the governor in an attitude more 
likely to command their respect, by having two companies of militia in 
attendance. At this council the chiefs of five powerful tribes rose up, de- 
claring their determination to stand by Tecumseh ; to which the governor 
replied, that " their decision should be reported to the president ;" but ad- 
ding, that he would most certainly enforce the claims of the treaty. Still 
anxious, if possible, to conciliate, rather than coerce the haughty chief, he 
paid him a visit the next day at his camp, when, repeating in substance 
what has already been given, Tecumseh replied : " Well, as the great 
chief is to determine the matter, I hope the Great Spirit will put sense 
enough into his head to induce him to direct you to give up this land. It 
is true, he is so far off that he will not be injured by the war ; he may sit 
still in his town and drink his wine, while you and I will have to fight it 
out." Shortly after this, the Shawnee chief withdrew to Tippecanoe, the 
residence of the Prophet, where he is said to have formed a combination 
of several tribes. 

In July, 1811, another messenger was sent, commissioned by the governor 
to demand the surrender of two Pottawatomie murderers who were at Tip- 
pecanoe, but without the desired effect. Indeed, such were the lawless and 
daring outrages which they now committed upon the more exposed settle- 
ments on the frontier, that at length, through the earnest solicitations of 
the people, directions were forwarded from the federal government to the 
governor to march forthwith against the Prophet's town with an armed 
force, with this injunction, however, " to avoid hostilities of any kind or 
degree not absolutely necessary." These instructions rendered the situa- 
tion of Harrison one of great delicacy and responsibility, being equivalent 
to allowing the Indians the right of commencing the action. 

The receipt of the governor's authority was hailed by the settlers with 
great enthusiasm, as they had long suffered severely from the incursions 
of these ruthless marauders, and, reposing unlimited confidence in the 
skill and courage of their commander, they viewed the measure as the 
only one which could insure to them the continued possession of their 
property, and even of life itself. Accordingly, a hastily-assembled forcei, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON- 407 

coTisisling of about nine hundred men, commenced its march from Fort 
Harrison, which was situated about sixty miles above Vincennes, on the 
28th of October. After a protracted and somewhat difficult advance, 
through open prairies, thick woods, and deep ravines, constantly on their 
guard against surprise, they arrived within sight of the Indian town. 
Here th« enemy began to appear in considerable numbers. Wearied 
with the fatigue of their expedition, after a brief conference, the troops 
encamped ; every precaution having been taken, however, to prevent 
surprise by the savages, as they apprehended an attack during the night. 

In conformity to a general order, the troops rested in their clothes and 
accoutrements, their loaded muskets by their sides, and their bayonets 
fixed. ■■ The officers, of course, rested like the soldiers — the governor 
being ready to mount his horse in an instant. The night passed without a 
sound, and (he governor and his aids rose a quarter before four, and were 
conversing around their fire. The new moon had risen, but affijrded little 
light, the sky being obscured by ragged clouds, from which a drizzling 
rain fell at intervals. In a few minutes the signal would have been given 
to call the men to arms, when a blaze from Indian rifles lighted up the 
scene. The savage warriors had crept up as near the sentries as possible, 
in the darkness, intending to rush forward and despatch them without noise, 
and then fall upon their sleeping comrades in the camp. But one senti- 
nel discovered what he rightly suspected to be an Indian creeping 
through the grass, and instantly gave him the contents of his musket. 
That discharge settled all doubts. Our men were started to their feet by 
a tremendous yell from a thousand savages, accompanied by a general 
volley from their rifles, and a desperate charge into the camp. But they 
found as warm a welcome. Everyman rose on the post assigned him, 
with musket in hand, ready for thrust or rally. The attack centred on 
the sharp rear angle of the left flank, which was for some minutes ex- 
posed to a destructive fire. But this angle was promptly reinforced, and 
the enemy beaten back with loss, several being killed within the lines of 
the camp. The fires, which first served to direct the aim of the savage 
rifle, were promptly extinguished. But the enemy had still the advantage 
of shelter in the bushes and grass, and a knowledge of the ground, which 
rendered a charge upon them in the darkness almost certain destruction. 
An attempt was volunteered to rout them from their hiding-places, by a 
company headed by the gallant Jo. Daviess, but repulsed with loss, and 
among the slain was their lamented leader. 

The battle still raged with desperation. The savages were bent on 
victory, and well organized for the contest, advancing and retreating by a 
rattling noise made with deers' hoofs. The governor was at every point 
of danger; animating and . encouraging the men where hardest pressed, 
ordering up companies to their support, and courting danger as if una- 
ware of its existence. All of the troops were conducted and formed by 



40S BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISOW. 

himself. It need not be added that every man stood his ground like 
a hero. 

The battle was fierce, but daylight at length broke on the combatants — 
a light most welcome to our harassed soldiers — fatal to their foes. The 
assailed left flank was fully strengthened, the dragoons were mounted, 
and, covered by them, a general charge was made upon the now baffled 
and dispirited enemy. The Indians gave way, and were driven into a 
swamp, through which the cavalry could not force their way. Repulsed 
in all quarters, the savages disappeared from the field, and the battle of 
Tippecanoe was at an end. 

Such was the extraordinary influence that the Prophet retained over the 
minds of the infatuated savages, that they are said to have fought with 
desperate and unprecedented valor on the occasion, although he himself 
was snugly ensconced on some neighboring eminence, simply regaling his 
devotees with war-songs, and practising absurd incantations. Tecumseh 
also was, at the time, absent on a visit to some southern tribes. 

The battle of Tippecanoe may unquestionably be regarded as one of 
the most memorable and decisive engagements ever fought with the Indi- 
ans. The intrepidity and self-possession of the commander was also sig- 
nally displayed on the occasion. " In the very heat of the action," says 
a contemporary record, " his voice was distinctly heard, giving orders in 
the same cool and collected manner with which he had been accustomed 
when on drill or parade ; nor was his personal bravery less conspicuous, 
as he was ever foremost in leading on his troops, regardless of the pecu- 
liar danger to which he was exposed, from the circumstance of his 
being known to most of the Indians, and being the marked object of their 
hostility." In the message of the president to Congress, of December 
18th, 1811, the following allusion is made, which is as highly compli- 
mentary to the conduct of the governor as it is expressive of the impor- 
tance attached to the action itself, and it must have been no mean achieve- 
ment which could win from the federal government such decided terms 
of approbation and honor. " While it is to be lamented," says Mr. Madi- 
son, " that so many valuable lives have been lost in the action which took 
place on the 9th ult., Congress will see with satisfaction the dauntless 
spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by every description of troops 
engaged, as well as the collected firmness which distinguished their 
commander on an occasion requiring the utmost exertion of valor and 
discipline."* 

The decisive blow which Harrison had struck against the Indian 

* The legislatures of Kentucky and Indiana also recorded their resolutions regarding the 
conduct of Harrison in this battle. The former is as foUows : " Resolved, That in the late 
campaign against the Indians on the Wabash, Governor Harrison has, in the opinion of this 
legislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general ; and that, for his cool, deliberatej 
skilful, and gallant conduct in the late battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest 
thanks of the nation." 



^ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 409 

power had produced a more powerful effect than all the admonitory 
efforts of years had accomplished. Several of the tribes sent deputies to 
Avait upon him with assurances of renewed amity, and a disavowal of fur- 
ther connexion with the hostile bands of TeCumseh. In February, 1812, 
intelligence that no less than eiglity Indians, deputies from all tlie tribes 
who were engaged in the late hostilities, except the Shawnees, had ar- 
rived at Fort Harrison, on their way to Vincennes. Suspicion being 
again naturally aroused, from their numbers, that a new treachery was de- 
signed, the governor sent an expostulation, requiring them to come in less 
numbers and unarmed ; they, however, not only delivered up their arms, 
but evinced the subdued deportment of men who had been taught to 
respect the authority of him with whom they had come to treat. 

Meanwhile, Tecumseh had returned from the south, and notwithstand- 
ing the sad reverse which his cause had sustained during his absence, the 
commencement of hostilities with Great Britain found for hirn an ally both 
able and eager to second his plans, thus neutralizing in part the lasting 
advantages which otherwise might have accrued from the victory of Tip- 
pecanoe. He consequently again renewed his intrigues with greater ac- 
tivity than ever, and he caused the commencement of fresh depredations 
along the widely-extended borders of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, at points 
so distant from each other as to distract public attention and create an 
almost universal panic. The declaration of war with Great Britain, it 
will be remembered, took place on the 18th of June, 1812, and the west- 
ern people sufl'ered more than has been commonly supposed, front their 
almost defenceless exposure to the incursions and barbarities of the infu- 
riated savages. Not that they were less energetic in the popular enthu- 
siasm of the measure, for they are known never to have chosen the inane 
and timid counsel of preferring security to honor, while they emulated, by 
their deeds of noble daring, in this, the second great struggle for liberty, 
the stern republican virtues which their patriotic ancestors evinced in the 
first. 

Here, again, are we called upon to notice the distinguishing preference 
which the whole people of the "west bestowed upon General Harrison, in 
their nomination of him to the head of their armies at a time when the 
highest order of talents was, of necessity, put in requisition. Governor 
Harrison was repeatedly honored by consultations from the several parts 
of the country, and in consequence of a communication received from 
Governor Scott, of Kentucky, he repaired to Frankfort ; and while here 
he suggested plans of operation which, had they been given some days 
earlier, would have proved of the most important service in the preserva- 
tion of Detroit, but which, unhappily for the country, had not been antici- 
pated by the government itself. 

The surrender of this city, and with it the army of Hull, had exposed 
the vast region including western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and what are now 



410 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISO??^. 

Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, to the enemy's ravages. About 
this time Governor Harrison received a communication from the war de- 
partment, which informed him that he had been appointed a brigadier-gen- 
eral in the army of the United States. It is a matter of regret that this 
appointment had not been conferred upon him at an earlier period, as in 
that case it is more than probable that the melancholy tragedy of the mas- 
sacre at the river Raisin would never have occurred. His situation again, 
at this time, was one of peculiar difficulty, from the paucity in the provis- 
ions and clothing of the troops ; the demand for these in the Atlantic 
cities, from the constant failure of the contractors, causing a deficiency 
which often became alarming. Having received advices informing him 
that Fort Wayne had become infested by a body of Indians, and in dan- 
ger of being reduced. Harrison's first movement was to hasten to its 
relief. Accordingly, on the 5th of September, he marched for that place, 
but finding his troops were deficient in a supply of flints — a trifling but 
indispensable article — he was subjected to some delay ; but he reached 
his destination on the 9th of the same month. On the 17th he received a 
despatch from the president, investing him with the command of the 
northwestern army, which then nominally amounted to about ten thousand 
men, undisciplined, unprovided, and scattered over a wide region ; added 
to which he had authority to employ officers, and to draw from the public 
stores ; which reposed in him a trust more extensive and important than 
was ever deputed to any officer of the United States, if we except, per- 
haps, Washington and Greene. The immediate objects of the campaign 
now committed to the sole direction of General Harrison, were the recapture 
of Detroit by a coup de main, the reduction of Maiden, in Upper Canada, and 
the protection of the northwestern border. The point from which the 
principal movement upon the enemy was to be made, was the rapids of 
the Miami. The military arrangements extended from Upper Sandusky, 
on the right, to Fort Defiance, on the left. As it comes not within our 
province to enumerate the details of this campaign, we shall strictly con- 
fine our remarks to the movements of General Harrison, and even our 
notice of these will necessarily be very brief. 

Harrison had scarcely reached his intended theatre of action, when he 
received intelligence of General Winchester's contemplated movement 
against the enemy ; he immediately ordered a corps of three hundred men 
to the rapids, and on the following morning he proceeded himself to Lower 
Sandusky, and there found that General Perkins had also prepared to send 
a battalion and artillery ; but owing to the delay in their transmission, from 
the bad condition of the roads, they failed to reach the river Raisin be- 
fore the fatal disaster had occurred. Harrison now determined to proceed 
to the rapids, to learn personally the situation of General Winchester. In 
the meantime, however, a reinforcement had been despatched by Colonel 
Lewis, for the purpose of occupying the village of Frenchtown, and while 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 4H 

on his way thither, General Harrison received the intelligence of the vic- 
tory which had been gained on the preceding day. 

He was finally enabled, on the 20th of January, to reach the camp. 
Hearing of Proctor's attack, he hastened with all his disposable force to 
the river Raisin, but was soon met by fugitives from the field of battle, 
from whom he ascertained the total defeat of Winchester's forces. The 
temerity of Winchester was the sole cause of his fall ; while all that could 
have been done to prevent the disaster, was done by General Harrison ; 
for had he received timely notice of the exigency of the case, his rein- ' 
forcemcnt would doubtless have terminated the action in our favor. On 
the 1st of February, the army having been reorganized and reinforced, 
their numbers now amounted to eighteen hundred men. Entertaining the 
confident expectation of ultimately accomplishing his purpose. General 
Harrison continued to make preparations with unremitting assiduity. He 
encamped for the winter at a fortified place which, in honor of the gov- 
ernor of Ohio, was called " Camp Meigs." About this period Harrison, 
■who was appointed major-general in the service of the United States, re- 
turned to Cincinnati, with the view of procuring and forwarding supplies 
of provisions and military stores. While engaged in the arduous duties 
of this campaign, he organized several minor expeditions against the In- 
dians, in order to keep them in proper check. 

Early in the spring of 1813, intelligence having been received of a 
contemplated expedition against Fort Meigs, by the British, accompanied 
by Tecumseh and six hundred warriors, General Harrison hastened back 
to the frontier, and immediately summoned three thousand troops from 
Kentucky, who reached Defiance on the 3d of May, while he himself 
arrived just in time to receive the enemy's attack. For five days their 
batteries kept up a constant shower of balls against our defences, although, 
through the skilful disposition of the commander, with comparatively little 
effect. Harrison, with his augmented forces, now made a vigorous and 
simultaneous attack on the enemy's batteries, and, having reduced them, 
preparations followed for a sortie from the fort, which resulted in trium- 
phant success. The impetuosity of the charge proved irresistible, and, 
after a severe struggle, our troops drove the enemy from their batteries, 
notwithstanding they, including their Indian allies, nearly doubled their 
numbers. This action was one of the most desperate and sanguinary ever 
fought during the whole border war ; it lasted, however, but forty-five 
minutes, during which time no less than one hundred and eighty were 
either killed or wounded of the American troops. Thus terminated the 
glorious defence of Fort Meigs. Harrison soon after left General Green 
Clay in command of the post. 

The unceasing efforts of the British, and the restless spirit of Tecumseh, 
allowed our troops but little time to recover from their severe fatigues ; 
for in less than two months (being early in July, 1813) the Indians as- 



412 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Of HARRISON. 

sembled a formidable body of no less than five thousand warriors, and 
again invested the fortress. In consequence of this, Harrison had a forti- 
fication erected at Seneca town, about nine miles up the river, as a reserve 
for the better protection of his principal depot at Upper Sandusky. The 
enemy remained but two days before the fortification, changing their route 
for Lower Sandusky. On the evening of the 29th, the general received 
information that the siege of Fort Meigs had been raised ; it was of the 
utmost importance, therefore, that all the troops within reach should be 
immediately concentrated for the protection of the principal point of de- 
fence at Upper Sandusky. The enemy demanded the surrender of the 
fort, which being refused by its commander. Colonel Crogan, a cannonade 
was opened, after which they attempted an assault, but being met by a 
galling fire of musketry, they were repulsed with great loss, and obliged 
to make a precipitate retreat. On the 18th of August, Commodore Perry, 
with his fleet, arrived off Sandusky bay, and shortly afterward his cele- 
brated action was fought, which so gloriously resulted in the capture of 
the enemy's whole fleet. Harrison, meanwhile, collected together his 
troops, and while Colonel Johnson marched for his station by way of the 
river Raisin, the general embarked on the 20th of September, with two 
brigades, for Bass island. 

On the 27th the army again embarked, and made a descent upon the 
Canada shore. Surrounded by his gallant troops. General Harrison now 
proudly stood upon the ruined breastworks of Maiden, from which de- 
struction had been poured upon the frontier, and whence the firebrand and 
tomahawk of the Indian had gone forth in the work of desolation. In his 
despatches to the war department, Harrison thus writes : " I will pursue 
the enemy to-morrow, although there is little probability of overtaking 
him, as he has upward of one thousand horses, and we have not one in 
the army." He proceeded, accordingly, on the following day, to Sand- 
wich, but Proctor had fled. " At a convention of the general officers, 
Harrison informed them," says M'Affee, "that there were but two ways 
of accomplishing their object ; one of which was to follow him up the 
strait by land ; the other, to embark and sail down Lake Erie to Long 
Point, then march hastily across by land twelve miles to the road, and in- 
tercept him." The former plan was unanimously preferred, and conse- 
qnenily adopted. The army rapidly advan(?ed in pursuit of the enemy up 
the Thames to the Moravian towns. On the 5ih of October the enemy 
were overtaken ; Proctor's position was flanked on the left by the Thames, 
and his right by a swamp, which was occupied by a horde of Indians un- 
der the celebrated Tecumseh. General Harrison, on this occasion, 
adopted a movement which, while it insured an easy victory, evinced a 
high degree of military skill and promptitude of character — one division 
of his infantry extending in a double line from the river to the swamp, 
opposite to Proctor's troops, and the other placed at right angles to the first, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 413 

facing tlie swamp, with the view of preventing the Indians from turning 
his left flank, and getting into the rear. Observing the enemy's troops to 
be in open order, that is, with intervals of three or four between the 
files, which can never successfully resist a charge of cavalry, Harrison 
instantly ordered Colonel Johnson's mounted regiment, which occupied 
the front, to dash through the enemy's line in column. This command 
was brilliantly executed, and the attempt was triumphant, for the British 
were at once thrown into confusion, and our men wisely taking advantage 
of their disorder by attacking their broken line in the rear, they were 
compelled to surrender their arms, and thus a splendid and almost blood- 
less victory was virtuously achieved, rather by the consummate skill of 
the general than by the energies of his troops. 

The contest with the Indian allies, however, was more severe, as they 
advanced and poured in a continuous and galling fire, not only upon the 
cavalry, but also the infantry, which for some time made a great impres- 
sion upon them. Suddenly, however, the voice of command which had 
hitherto inspired their courage was hushed : the haughty chief, Tecum- 
seh, had fallen. The Indians, as soon as the event became known, has- 
tily decamped, leaving about thirty of their number dead where the chief 
had fallen. Thus ended this decisive engagement, which, together with 
the brilliant victory on the adjacent lake, rescued the whole -northwestern 
territory from the depredations of the savage, and all the accumulated hor- 
rors of war; for the Indians, finding themselves no longer sustained by 
the British, sued for peace, and the result was, an armistice was granted, 
and finally an amicable arrangement with them ratified by the general gov- 
ernment at Washington. The loss on both sides, in the battle of the 
Thames, was about fifty killed and wounded, while the prisoners taken by 
the American troops amounted to six hundred. 

This event, so important to the security and honor of the country, was 
hailed with universal rejoicing and gratulatioiis, while all parties partici- 
pated in the most enthusiastic encomiums upon the magnanimous and he- 
roic conduct of him through whose talents and skill it was accomplished. 
In his message to Congress of the 7ih of December, 1813, Mr. Madison 
spoke of the result as " signally honorable to Major-General Harrison, by 
whose military talents it was prepared." And in his speech in Congress, 
Mr. Cheves thus also alludes* to the same subject : " The victory of Har- 
rison was such as would have secured to a Roman general, in the best 
days of the republic, the honors of a triumph. He put an end to the war 
in the uppermost Canada." — " The blessings," said Governor Snyder, of 
Pennsylvania, in his message to the legislature of that state, " of thou- 
sands of women and children, rescued from the scalping-knife of the ruth- 
less savage of the wilderness, and from the still more savage Proctor, rest 
on Harrison and his gallant army." Numerous other contemporaneous 
records might also be referred to in testimony of the nation's gratitude all 



414 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 

of which, however, with the exception of the resolution whicTi was 
adopted by both houses of Congress, it is needless to notice. This is as 
follows : — 

" Resolved, hy the Senate and -House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress 
be, and they are hereby, presented to Major-General William Henry Har- 
rison, and Isaac Shelby, late governor of Kentucky, and through them to 
the officers and men under their command, for their gallant and good con- 
duct in defeating the combined British and Indian forces under Major-Gen- 
eral Proctor, on the.Thames, in Upper Canada, on the fifth day of October, 
1813, capturing the British army, with their baggage, camp equipage, and 
artillery ; and that the president of the United States be requested to 
cause two gold medals to be struck, emblematical of this triumph, and pre- 
sented to General Harrison and Isaac Shelby, late governor of Kentucky." 

The pacification of the northwestern border no longer requiring his 
services, General Harrison despatched his troops to the Niagara frontier, 
with the view of assisting in the operations then going on in that quarter, 
although this formed no part of the plajj of the campaign he had to exe- 
cute. On his arrival at Fort Niagara, preparations were being made for 
an expedition against Burlington heights ; these were, however, summa- 
rily arrested by the receipt of an order from the war department, directing 
him to send his troops to Sackett's Harbor, for the defence of that place. 
He accompanied them thither, and, having no right to command in that 
district, proceeded at once to Washington. In every city through which 
he passed he was received with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of 
respect. He remained in Washington but a few days, being desired by 
the president to hasten to Ohio, as his presence there would be of impor- 
tant service, both as regarded the peace of the border, the filling up of 
the regiments intended to be raised in the western states, and other 
measures then in anticipation. 

It will be remembered that the secretary of war at this time was Gen- 
eral Armstrong, who, from some unknown cause, appears to have imbibed 
a strong prejudice against General Harrison, as, from the plan of the cam- 
paign for 1814, submitted by him to the president, it was evident that 
Harrison would no longer be employed in any active service. He also is 
known to have interfered, on more than one occasion during the winter, 
with the internal arrangements of the district which Harrison commanded, 
in contravention to all military etiquette. These circumstances, when 
contrasted with the almost unlimited powers confided to him by the gov- 
ernment during the two previous campaigns, evidently prove them to have 
been intended as a source of mortification to Harrison ; accordingly, he 
tendered his resignation, which, unfortunately for the country, as Mr. Mad- 
ison was absent on a visit to Virginia, was, without consulting the presi- 
dent, accepted at the war department. The president himself, in his re- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON, 415 

ply to an appeal from Governor Shelby, is said to have expressed his 
great regret that he had not received the intimation earlier, as in that case 
the valuable services of General Harrison would have been preserved 
to the nation in the ensuing campaign. Thus prematurely, were the 
efficient military services of General Harrison brought to a close.* 
Not the less, however, did he continue to receive fresh tokens of con- 
fidence and esteem from Mr. Madison, for in the summer of 1814 he 
■was appointed, in conjunction with .Governor Shelby and General Cass, 
to treat with the Indians in the northwest, at Greenville and the old head- 
quarters of General Wayne ; and during the following year, when the 
treaty of Ghent provided for the pacification of several important tribes, he 
was placed at the head of the commission. 

General Harrison was not permitted by the people to remain long in 
retirement. In 1816 he was elected to represent the congressional dis- 
trict of Ohio in which he resided, in the house of representatives of the 
United States. He was chosen to supply a vacancy, and also for the two 
succeeding years. As in almost every instance where an individual has 
rendered himself prominently an object of popular regard, we find his con- 
duct at some period of his career the subject of malignity and slander, 
General Harrison had scarcely taken his seat at Washington when his 
conduct while in command of the northwestern army, was impugned ; this 
was done by one of the contractors of the army, whose profits, by the in- 
tegrity of Harrison, had suffered considerable diminution. At the in- 
stance of the general, a committee for the full investigation of the charges 
was appointed, of which Colonel Johnson was chairman ; and after a fuU 
examination of numerous witnesses, they made a unanimous report, in 
which they exculpated General Harrison, in the fullest manner, from all the 
charges brought against him, and paid a high compliment to his patriot- 
ism, disinterestedness, and devotion to the public service. This unjust 
calumny produced serious injury to General Harrison, having caused the 
postponement of the resolution introduced into the senate for awarding to 
him the gold medal and the thanks of Congress ; it was speedily dissipa- 
ted, however, as it ultimately was adopted by the senate, and concurred 
in by the house, with but one dissenting vote. 

While a member of the house. General Harrison assiduously labored to 
accomplish two great political objects ; one was a reform in the militia, 
and the other for the relief of the veteran soldiers who had served in the 
revolutionary armies, as well as those who had been wounded, or otherwise 
disabled, in the last war with Great Britain. With respect to the former 

* But although his brilliant and glorious career in the field was ended, during which, for 
nearly a quarter of a century, he had successfully led his countrymen through every vicis- 
situde and peril to victory, when he could no longer serve them in his military capacity, 
he retired into private life, too high-minded and disinterested to sacrifice his sense of duty 
to pecuniary considerations, and disdaining to receive emoluments for services which he 
could not, consistently with justice to himself, any longer fulfil. 



416 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 

measure, he obtained the appointment of a committee, of which he was 
chairman, and subsequently brought in a bill ; but the aversion which 
Congress has always displayed for any legislation upon the subject, caused 
its frequent postponement, till at length, on his retiremem from Congress, 
it was finally dropped altogether, for the want of some one to sustain it. 
His other project, however, was crowned with success, and the numerous 
pensioners who received the nation's bounty always regarded General 
Harrison as their benefactor and friend. 

He subsequently took a prominent part in supporting the affirmative of 
the question of acknowledging the independence of the South American 
republics, as proposed by Mr. Clay, then speaker of the house ; in whose 
views of a liberal public policy he generally concurred. In the debate on 
the conduct of General Jackson during the Seminole war, Harrison parti- 
cipated, censuring such acts of General Jackson as he deemed wrong, 
although giving him credit for patriotic motives, and defending him in 
those points which he considered right. 

In 1819 General Harrison was elected to the senate of Ohio; and in 
1824 he was chosen by the people one of the presidential electors of that 
state, on the ticket formed by the friends of Mr. Clay, and gave his vote 
for that gentleman for president. The same year, viz., in 1824, he was 
elected by the legislature a member of the senate of the United States, and 
soon after taking his seat in that body, the following year, he was ap- 
pointed chairman of the military committee, in place of General Jackson, 
who had resigned. He supported the administration of Mr. Adams, and 
in 1828 was appointed by that president, minister plenipotentiary to the 
republic of Colombia. Having proceeded immediately upon his mission, 
he arrived at Bogota in December, 1828. He found the country in a state 
of confusion, the government little better than a despotism, and the people 
as lawless as they were ignorant of their rights. His reception, however, 
was characterized by the most flattering tokens of respect. His plain re- 
publican simplicity ultimately caused him to be suspected of favoring the 
liberal or opposition party, and occasioned a series of petty annoyances, 
rendering his situation exceedingly irksome. But he was speedily re- 
leased from his embarrassment on this account, as one of the very first acts 
of General Jackson's administration, in 1829, was to recall him from the 
mission. Before leaving Colombia, but after he had become a private citi- 
zen, Harrison addressed to General Bolivar his celebrated appeal in favor 
of constitutional liberty, a document which has often been quoted in North 
and South America, and which, for its manly vigor, pure principles of re- 
publicanism, and fervid eloquence, has always been considered highly 
honorable to its author, and an evidence of his superior literary attain- 
ments. 

On his return from Colombia, General Harrison ceased to engage him- 
self in any active pursuits of public life, living in retirement upon his farm 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 417 

at North Bend, on the Ohio river, a (ew miles below Cincinnati. Never 
having sought personal aggrandizement, nor availed himself of his public 
situation to acquire a fortune, he had not been wealthy ; he was, there- 
fore, induced as a means of contributing to his support, to accept the office 
of clerk to the court of Hamilton county, where he resided, and which sta- 
tion, up to the time of his election to the presidency, he continued to oc- 
cupy. This circumstance alone exhibits a trait in the character of Gen- 
eral Harrison, no less ennobling than it is rare ; since he not only, proved 
himself superior to the influence of the specious yet arbitrary forms of 
conventional life, but he also evinced the greatness of his mind in rising 
superior to false pride as to selfish ambition in the service of his country. 

In 1835 General Harrison was brought forward as a candidate for the 
presidency of the United States, as successor to General Jackson, at a 
time when it was generally expected that Mr. Van Biiren, then vice-presi- 
dent, would be supported as the democratic candidate for that high ofhce, 
by the friends of Jackson. Harrison was nominated by meetings of the 
people in Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, and other states. Anti-masonic 
and whig conventions, and those, who had supported Jackson, but now re- 
fused to vote for Van Buren, joined in sustaining the nomination of Harri- 
son. The opposition were not, however, united in their candidate ; Judge 
Hugh L. White was nominated and supported for the presidency, in Ten- 
nessee, Georgia, and other southern and southwestern states, while Daniel 
Webster received the vote of Massachusetts, and Willie P. Mangum that 
of South Carolina. The result of the election, which took place in 1836, 
showed the great popularity of General Harrison. Without any general 
concert among his friends, he received 73 electoral votes, and in Penn- 
sylvania, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, the majorities for the electoral 
tickets in favor of Mr. Van Buren were comparatively small. 

The national convention of whig delegates which assembled at Harris- 
burg, the seat of government of Pennsylvania, on the 4th of December, 
1839, after a careful and friendly interchange of views with regard to the 
respective claims and prospects of the three candidates named in the con- 
vention, viz.. General Harrison, Mr. Clay, and General Scott, finally 
awarded the nomination to Harrison. The friends of the rival opposition 
candidates, and all desirous to effect a change in the national administra- 
tion, cordially united in the nomination ; and after a contest more anima- 
ted and more general than any which ever before occurred in this coun- 
try, General Harrison was elected to the presidency by an overwhelming 
vote. He received 234 electoral votes ; Mr. Van Buren 60 only. Har- 
rison attended several of the mass meetings of the people in Oliio 
during the contest, and addressed them in a powerful and eloquent 
manner. 

The elevation of General Harrison to the presidency difl'used a general 
feeling of joy and satisfaction throughout the nation ; for many even of 
27 



^IS BIOGRAPHfCAL SKETCH OF HARUISON. 

those who had opposed his election, admitted his patriotism, and hoped 
for a prosperous administration of the government in the hands of one who 
had always proved faithful to the public trust. In February, 1841, the venera- 
ble chief left his peaceful residence at North Bend, Ohio, to proceed to the 
seat of the national government and take the reins of power committed to 
him by the voice of the people. He was received at the dilferent cities, towns, 
and villages, on the route to Washington, by immense concourses of peo- 
ple, anxious to tender him every demonstration of respect, and showing the 
highest degree of enthusiasm. He arrived at Washington on the 9th of 
February, and was received by the mayor, aldermen, and citizens of the 
capital, with distingmshed honor and cordial welcome. A few days after- 
ward, he visited Richmond, Virginia, and mingled freely with the citizens ; 
after spending a few days with his relatives residing on James river, 
in the vicinity of Richmond, he returned to Washington, preparatory to 
assuming the responsible duties of his station. 

The inauguration of General Harrison as president of the United States, 
took place on the 4th of March, 1841. The city of Washington was 
thronged with people, many of whom were from the most distant states 
of the Union. A procession was formed, civic and military, from the 
quarters of the president elect to the capitol. General Harrison was 
mounted on a white charger, accompanied by several personal friends, 
and his immediate escort were the officers and soldiers w^ho had fought 
under him. The scene, as described in the National Intelligencer, was 
highly interesting and imposing. The ladies everywhere, from the win- 
dows on each side of the avenue, waved their handkerchiefs in token of 
their kind feelings, and General Harrison returned their smiles and greet- 
ings with repeated bows. The enthusiastic cheers of the citizens who 
moved in the procession were, with equal enthusiasm, responded to by 
thousands of citizen spectators who lined Pennsylvania avenue, or ap- 
peared at the side windows, in the numerous balconies, on the tops of 
houses, or on other elevated stands. 

At the capitol, the senate having been convened, by the late president, 
in extra session, assembled at the appointed hour, and was organized by 
the appointment of Mr. King, of Alabama, president pro tern. ; after which 
Mr. Tyler, the vice-president elect, took the oath of office, and, on taking 
his seat as presiding officer, delivered a brief and appropriate address to 
the senate. The judges of the supreme court, the diplomatic corps, and 
several distinguished officers of the army and navy were present in the 
senate-chamber. 

At twenty minutes past twelve o'clock. General Harrison entered and 
took the seat prepared for him in front of the secretary's table. He 
looked cheerful, but composed ; his bodily health was manifestly good ; 
there was an alertness in his movement which was quite astonishing, 
considering his advanced age, the multiplied hardships through which 



BlOGRArHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 419 

his frame had passed, and the fatigues he had lately undergone. After 
he had retained his seat for a few minutes, preparations were made for 
forming the line of procession to the platform prepared for the ceremony 
of the inauguration, erected over the front steps of the portico of the east 
front of the capitol. 

On the platform, seats had been provided for the president elect and 
the chief-justice, who were placed immediately in front. On their right, 
seats were assigned to the diplomatic corps. Behind sat members of both 
houses of Congress, officers of the army and navy, and many distin- 
guished characters from different parts of the Union ; intermingled with a 
great company of ladies who occupied, not only the steps in the rear of 
the platform, but both the broad abutments of stone which support the 
steps on either side. 

But the sight which attracted and arrested and filled the eye of the 
observer, was the people. They stood for hours in a solid, dense mass, 
variously estimated to contain, in the space before the capitol, from thirty 
to sixty thousand. 

While patiently waiting for the arrival of the president, the mass of 
heads resembled some placid lake ; but the instant he was seen advancing 
from the capitol, ii suddenly resembled that same lake when a blast from 
the mountain has descended upon it, thrown it into tumultuous agitation, 
and " lifted up its hands on high." A deafening shout went up from the 
hearts and voices of the people. It sung v/elcome to the man whom the 
people delighted to honor, and must have met, with overwhelming power, 
the throbbings of his own bosom.* 

When the uproar had subsided, it was succeeded by the deep stillness 
of expectation, and the new president forthwith proceeded to read, in ac- 
cents loud and clear, his address to the nation. In its delivery, the voice 
of General Harrison never flagged, but to the end retained its full and 
commanding tone. As he touched on successive topics lying near the 
hearts of the people, their sympathy with his sentiments was manifested 
by shouts which broke forth involuntarily from time to time ; and when 
the reading of the address was concluded, they were renewed and pro- 
longed without restraint. 

Previous to delivering the closing sentences of the address, the oath of 
office, tendered by Chief-Justice Taney, was taken by the president, in 
tones loud, distinct, and solemn, manifesting a due and a deep impression 
of the importance of the act ; after which the president pronounced the 
remaining passage of his address. 

The peahng cannon then announced to the country that it had a new- 
chief magistrate. The procession was again formed ; and setting out from 
the capitol, proceeded along Pennsylvania avenue to the mansion of the 
president, cheered throughout the whole route as General Harrison passed, 
• National Intelligencer. 



420 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 

by the immense crowds on foot, whicli lined the avenue and filled tho 
doors and windows of the buildings. 

Nearly the whole throng of visiters accompanied the president to his 
new abode, and as many as possible entered and paid their personal 
respects to him. The close of the day was marked by the repetition of 
salutes from the artillery, the whole city being yet alive with a population 
of strangers and residents, whom the mildness of the season invited into 
the open air. 

In the evening, the several ball-rooms and places of amusement were 
crowded with gentlemen and ladies attracted to Washington city by the 
novelty and interest of the occasion. In the course of the evening the 
president paid a short visit to each of the assemblies held in honor of the 
inauguration, and was received with the warmest demonstrations of attach- 
ment and respect. 

The president immediately nominated to the senate the members of his 
cabinet, as follows : Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, secretary of state ; 
Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, secretary of the treasury ; John Bell, of Ten- 
nessee, secretary of war ; George E. Badger, of North Carolina, secretary 
of the navy ; Francis Granger, of New York, postmaster-general ; John J. 
Crittenden, of Kentucky, attorney-general. These nominations were all 
confirmed by the senate. That body also confirmed a number of other 
nominations by the president, chiefly to fill vacancies ; and, after electing 
a sergeant-at-arms, and dismissing Messrs. Blair and Rives as printers to 
the senate, also having elected Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey, presi- 
dent ^'^'o tcm., the senate adjourned on the 15th of March. 

The members of the diplomatic body, or foreign ministers, in Washing- 
ton accredited to the government of the United States, waited on the presi- 
dent on the 9th of March, and through Mr. Fox, the British minister, 
being presented by the secretary of state, made to him an appropriate 
address, congratulating him upon his accession to the presidency. To 
this address the president of the United States made the following reply : — 

" Sir : I receive with great pleasure the congratulations you have been 
pleased to ofli'er me, in the name of the distinguished dij)lomatic body now 
present, the representatives of the most powerful and polished nations 
with whom the republic which has honored me with the ofiice of its chief 
magistrate has the most intimate relations — relations which I trust no sin- 
ister event will, 'for ages, interrupt. 

"The sentiments contained in my late address to my fellow-citizens, 
and to which you have been pleased to advert, are those which will con- 
tinue to govern my conduct through the whole course of my administra- 
tion. Lately one of the people, the undisputed sovereigns of the country, 
and coming immediately from among them, I am enabled, with confidence, 
to say, that in thus acting I shall be sustained by their undivided appro- 
bation. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON. 421 

" I beg leave to add, sir, that, both from duty and inclination, I shall 
omit nothing in my power to contribute to your own personal happiness 
and that of the friends whom, on this occasion, you represent, as long as 
you may continue among us." 

The other ministers, with their secretaries, and the persons attached to 
their respective missions, v/ere then successively presented to the presi- 
dent. The Russian minister was prevented from being present, by indis- 
position ; but on the 12th of March'he was presented to the president, by 
the secretary of state, and to his address on the occasion, the president 
replied as follows : — 

" I receive, sir, the congratulations which you offer me in your capacity 
of envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of the emperor of all 
the Russias, upon my election to the presidency of the United States, with 
great pleasure. 

" From the epoch which introduced the United States to the world as 
an independent nation, the most amicable relations have existed between 
them and the powerful and distinguished monarchs who have successively 
Kwayed the sceptre of Russia. The presidents, my predecessors, acting 
in behalf and under the authority of the people, their constituents, have 
never failed to use every proper occasion to confirm and strengthen the 
friendship so auspiciously commenced, and which a mutuality of interests, 
render so desirable to be continued. I assure you, sir, that none of them 
felt the obligations of this duty more powerfully than I do ; and you can 
not in language too strong communicate to your august monarch my senti- 
ments on this subject. And permit me to add, that no more acceptable 
medium of communicating them could have been oflered than that of a per- 
sonage who has rendered himself so acceptable, as well to the people as 
to the government of the United States." 

On the 17th of March, President Harrison issued his proclamation, cal- 
ling an extra session of Congress, principally on account of the condition 
of the revenue and finances of the country, to be held on the last Monday, 
being the 31st day, of May ensuing. 

The extra sessions of Congress called by the predecessors of General 
Harrison, since the organization of the government, were as follows : John 
Adams convened Congress on the 16th of May, 1797; Thomas Jefl'erson 
called the eighth Congress on the 1 7th of October, 1803, to provide for 
carrying the Louisiana treaty into effect, but that day was only about three 
weeks earlier than had been fixed by the preceding Congress ; James 
Madison convened Congress on the 23d of May, 1809 ; also on the 25th 
of May, 1813 ; Martin Van Buren convened Congress on the 4th of Sep- 
tember, 1837. 

Mrs. Harrison did not accompany her husband to Washington, but re- 
mained at the homestead at North Bend, superintending the care of her 
numerous family, and intending to join the president at the seat of gov- 



422 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISON- 

ernment in the course of the spring ; but the family and the nation were 
destined soon to receive a mournful lesson upon the mutability of human 
affairs . 

From the moment General Harrison was elected president, his heart 
was filled with gratitude to the people, to whom indeed he had always 
been devoted. Anxious to fulfil the wishes of his political friends, he re- 
ceived with kindness and attention the numerous applicants for oflice 
■who thronged the seat of government ; and although he would doubtless 
have been better pleased to have deferred many appointments for a time, 
yet a considerable number of removals were made by him, and appoint- 
ments made, in compliance with the views of the cabinet, during the 
month of March. In the generosity of his heart, he invariably opened the 
doors of the president's mansion wide to the reception of his friends, and 
that house was the abode of hospitality and kindness. He indulged his 
friends to his own destruction. From sunrise till midnight, he indulgently 
devoted liimself to his fellow-citizens who visited him, with the exception 
of an hour each day spent in cabinet council. It was his habit, after 
rising, first to peruse his bible, and then to take a walk before breakfast. 
And afterward, the whole day would be spent in receiving company and 
transacting business. 

On Saturday, March 27, President Harrison, after several days previous 
indisposition from the effects of a cold, was seized with a chill and other 
symptoms of fever. These were followed by pneumonia, or bilious pleu- 
risy, which ultimately baffled all medical skill, and terminated his virtu- 
ous, useful, and illustrious life, on Sunday morning, the 4th of x\pril, after 
an illness of eight days, being a little over 68 years of age. 

The last time the president spoke was at nine o'clock on Saturday 
night, a little more than three hours before he expired. While Doctor 
Worthington and one or two other attendants were standing over him, 
having just administered something to his comfort, he cleared his throat, 
as if desiring to speak audibly, and, as though he fancied himself addres- 
sing his successor, or some official associate in the government, said : 
" Sir, I WISH you to understand the principles of the govern- 
ment. I WISH them carried out. I ASK NOTHING MORE." 

He expired a little after midnight, surrounded by those members of his 
family who were in the city, the members of his cabinet and many per- 
sonal friends, among whom were Colonels Chambers and Todd, who 
were the aids of General Harrison at the battle of the Thames, in 1813. 
The connexions of the president who were present in the executive man- 
sion at the time of his decease, were the following : Mrs. William Har- 
rison (son's widow) ; Mrs. Taylor, of Richmond (niece) ; Mr. D. O. 
Coupeland (nephew) ; Henry Harrison, of Virginia (grand nephew), and 
Findlay Harrison, of Ohio (grandson). 

The general feeling throughout the country was thus eloquently pox- 



BIOGRAPRICAL SKETCH 01 HARRISON'. 423 

trayed in the National Intelligencer of April 9, 1841, whicli contained an 
ace ount of the funeral : — 

" Never, since the time of Washington, has any one man so concentra- 
ted upon himself the love and confidence of the American people ; and 
never, since the melancholy day which shrouded a nation in mourning for 
his sudden death, has any event produced so general and so profound a 
sensation of surprise and sorrow. 

" So brief had been the late president's illness, that now, as in the case 
of Washington, there had scarce been time for us to begin to fear, when 
the stunning blow of the reality fell upon us like the stroke of thunder from 
a cloudless sky. Men looked aghast, and staggered, as if amazed by 
something they could scarce believe. But it was true. He who, with 
beaming countenance, passed along our streets in the joy of his heart — 
he, the welcome, the long-expected, the desired, on whom all eyes were 
fastened, to whom all hearts went out ; who had within him more stirring 
siibjects of exhilarating consciousness than have met in any single bosom 
since Washington was crowned with wreaths as he came back from York- 
town, was, on Wednesday last, within one month, 'one little month,' 
borne along that same crowded avenue — crowded, not as before, with a 
jubilant people gathered from every quarter of the country, but with sin- 
cerely sorrowing multitudes following his bier. When the words, ' the 
president is dead,' met the ear, the man of business dropped his pen, the 
artisan dropped his tools — children looked into the faces of their parents, 
and wives into the countenances of their husbands — and the wail of sor- 
row arose as if each had lost a parent, or some near and dear friend. Could 
General Harrison now look down on the land he loved, he might, indeed, 
* read his history in a nation's e^-es ;' and those whose bosoms glow and 
struggle with high purposes and strong desires for their country's good, 
may learn in what they now behold, wherever they turn their eyes, how glori- 
ous a reward awaits the memory of those who faithfully serve their country I" 
On Wednesday, the 7lh of April, the funeral of President Harrison took 
place at Washington,' and was attended by an immense concourse of citi- 
zens, who thronged to the city from Baltimore, Philadelphia, Alexandria, 
and other places, anxious to join in the honors and solemnities paid to the 
memory of the illustrious deceased. The civic and military procession 
was large and imposing, occupying two miles in length. The funeral ser- 
vice of the episcopal church was recited by the Rev. Mr. Hawley. The body 
was interred in the congressional burying ground, but afterward removed 
to North Bend, Ohio, at the request of the family of General Harrison. 

All party distinctions were merged in the feeling of respect due to the 
memorj- of the honored dead ; and throughout the Union, funeral honors 
and other testimonials of public feeling, similar to those which took place 
on the death of General Washington, were awarded to the memorj- of Har- 
rison. At every city, town, and village, in the Union, as the unwelcome 



424 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF HARRISO-V. 

tidings of llie death of the president arrived, it was received with every 
demonstration of mourning and regret, and followed immediately by snch 
marks of rospect as the several communities had it in their power to offer. 
Such legislative bodies as happened to be in session, were among the 
foremost to demonstrate their sympathy with the general impulse. That 
exhibited by the legislature of Maryland, in leaving the seat of the state 
government, and attending the funeral as an organized body, was among 
the most touching evidences of the kind. The Pennsylvania legislature 
deputed a number of members from each branch of that body, to proceed 
from Harrisburg to Washington, to attend the funeral. The legislature of 
New York adopted such measures as the occasion enabled them to do, to 
testify their feelings. The respective courts, wherever they were in ses- 
sion, officially united in the general expression, as did also the municipal- 
ities of all the principal cities and towns in the Union. The occasion was 
also appropriately noticed by the clergy of the difierent denominations. 

General Harrison left one son and three daughters, all living at or near 
North Bend, Ohio. Four sons and a daughter died before their father. 
All of the sons left children. 

In person. General Harrison was tall and slender. Although he never 
had the appearance of possessing a robust constitution, yet such had been 
the effects of habitual activity and temperance, that few men at his age 
enjoyed so much bodily vigor. He had a fine dark eye, remarkable for 
its keenness, fire, and intelligence, and his face was strongly expressive 
of the vivacity of his mind, and the benevolence of his character. 

The most remarkable traits of General Harrison's character, and those 
by which he was distinguished throughout his whole career, were his 
disinterestedness, his regard for the rights and comforts of others, his gen- 
erous disposition, his mild and forbearing temper, and his plain, easy, and 
unostentatious manner. 

He had a most intimate knowledge of the history, and foreign and do- 
mestic polity of the United States ; and from the moderation of his politi- 
cal views and feelings as a party man, although firm, frank, and consist- 
ent, he was well calculated for the high station to which he was elected, 
and which it is believed he would have filled with ability, and to the sat- 
isfaction of the public, during his presidential term, had his life been 
spared. His talents, although, perhaps, not of the highest order, were 
very respectable, and, united with an accurate knowledge of mankind, en- 
abled him to acquit himself well in the various public stations to which he 
was called. He was a bold and eloquent orator ; and he has left on rec- 
ord numerous evidences of his literary acquirements, among which, be- 
sides his correspondence and public papers, we may mention his discourse 
before the Historical Society of Ohio (on the aborigines of the valley of 
the Ohio), published at Cincinnati in 1839, which can not fail to please 
and instruct either the scholar, the lover of history, or the antiquary. 




■En^JyjrV^Balcli&emaDaguerreotrpe 



•'1^ 



171^ M/u.'^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



JOHN TYLER. 



The ancestors of John Tyler, the tenth president of the United States, 
and the sixth chief magistrate of the nation whose birthplace was Vir- 
ginia, were among the early English settlers of the Old Dominion. This 
family of Tyler, it is understood, traced their lineage back to Walter, or 
Wat Tyler, who, in the fourteenth century, headed an insurrection in Eng- 
land, and, while demanding of the king (Richard II.) a recognition of the 
rights of the people, lost his life in their cause. 

The father of the subject of this sketch, bearing the same name, was 
the second son of John Tyler, who was marshal of the colony, under the 
royal government, up to the period of his death, which occurred after the 
remonstrances against the stamp act, and whose patrimonial estate covered 
a large tract of country in and about Williamsburg. The son early en- 
tered with warmth and spirit into the discussion of those grievances which 
afterward kindled the flame of the revolution ; and so earnestly were his 
sympathies enlisted in the cause of colonial rights, and so unhesitatingly 
were his opinions expressed, that his father, the marshal, often told him 
that he would some day be hung for a rebel. A rebel he did indeed prove, 
but his consequent exaltation was destined to be, not the scaffold, but the 
chair of state. Removing from James City, some time in 1775, to Charles 
City, he was, not long after, elected from that county a member of the 
house of delegates of Virginia, and in that capacity distinguished himself 
by the zeal and fearlessness with which he advocated the boldest measures 
of the revolution, and the devotion with which he lent all the energies of 
a powerful mind to its success.* 

The intimate friend of Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Edmund Ran- 
dolph, he was scarcely less beloved by the entire people of Virginia. 

* We are indebted to a life of President Tyler, written by one of his friends, and pub- 
lished by Harper aud Brothers, ia 1844, for a part of this sketch. 



426 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 

Throughout the revolution, Mr. Tyler devoted himself unceasingly and 
untiringly to its success. A bold, free, and elegant speaker, his voice 
was never silent when it could avail aught for the great cause in which 
he was enlisted ; and possessing an ample fortune at the commencement 
of the revolution — partly the inheritance of his father, but more the result 
of his own industry as a distinguished lawyer of the colony — the liberality 
with which he lavished his wealth upon its progress, and the utter disre- 
gard of selfish considerations with which he sacrificed his whole time 
during its continuance, to aid in bringing it to a successful termination, 
left him almost utterly impoverished at its close. None appreciated bet- 
ter than the people of Virginia the great services he had rendered, and the 
patriotic sacrifices he had made to the cause of independence ; and he 
was elevated by them successively to the offices of speaker of the house 
of delegates, governor of the state, and judge in one of her highest courts. 
At the breaking out of the last war, he was appointed, by Mr. Madison, a 
judge of the federal court of admiralty. In February, 1813, he died, full 
of years and honors. The legislature passed resolutions expressive of 
their sense of the bereavement, and went into mourning for the remainder 
of the session. 

Judge Tyler left three sons, Wat, John, and William, the second of 
whom, the subject of this memoir, was born in Charles City county, Vir- 
ginia, on the 29th of March, 1790. Passing over the period of his early 
youth, when he was noted for his love of books, and particularly of his- 
torical works, we find young Tyler, at the age of twelve years, entering 
William and Mary college. Here he soon attracted the notice of Bishop 
Madison, the venerable president of that institution ; and during his whole 
collegiate course, Mr. Tyler was, in an especial degree, a favorite of that 
distinguished man, as well as of his fellow-students. He passed through 
the courses at the age of seventeen, and on that occasion delivered an ad- 
dress on the subject of " female education," which was pronounced by the 
faculty to have been the best commencement oration delivered there within 
their recollection. 

After leaving college, Mr. Tyler devoted himself to the study of law, already 
commenced during his collegiate studies, and passed the next two years in 
reading, partly with his father, and partly with Edmund Randolph, for- 
merly governor of Virginia, and one of the most eminent lawyers in the 
state. At nineteen years of age, he appeared at the bar of his native 
county as a practising lawyer, a certificate having been given him without 
inquiry as to his age ; and such was his success, that ere three months 
had elapsed there was scarcely a disputable case on the docket of the 
court in which he was not retained upon the one side or the other. The 
year after his appearance at the bar, he was offered a nomination as mem- 
ber of the legislature from his own county, but he declined the proffered 
honar, until the following year, when, having reached the age of twenty- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 427 

one but a few days before the election took place, he was chosen nearly 
unanimously, a member of the house of delegates. 

He took his seat in that branch of the Virginia legislature in December, 
181 1. The breaking out of the war soon after, afforded fine scope for his 
oratorical abilities. Attached to the democratic party, and an advocate 
of the course of policy which had been pursued by Jefferson and Madi- 
son, in the limited sphere he then occupied, his voice was ever heard 
urging, so far as lay in the power of the government, the most energetic 
measures in carrying on the war. He spoke often, with the view of im- 
proving his powers of oratory ; and the youthful debater had the gratifica- 
tion to find, that even in the forum of Virginia, the country of eloquence, 
his speeches commanded universal attention. 

The senators in Congress from Virginia at that time, were Messrs. 
Giles and Brent, who had been instructed by the legislature to vote 
against the renewal of the charter of the bank of the United States. This 
instruction was disobeyed by Mr. Brent, in his vote on the question, in 
February, 1811, and Mr. Tyler introduced a resolution of censure into the 
house of delegates, animadverting severely upon the course of the senator, 
and laying it down as a principle to be established thereafter, that any 
person accepting the office of senator of the United States from the state 
of Virginia, by such acceptance tacitly bound himself to obey, during the 
period he should serve, the instructions he might receive from its legis- 
lature. Twenty-five years afterward he had not forgotten the ideas of 
senatorial duty he then inculcated, when, himself a senator, he was called 
upon to record a vote not less repugnant to his judgment than to his con- 
science. Mr. Tyler was elected to the legislature for five successive 
years ; and, as an instance of his popularity in his native county, it may 
be mentioned, that on one occasion he received all the votes polled except 
five. Some years later, when a candidate for Congress, of the two hun- 
dred votes given in the same county, he received all but one, over a dis- 
tinguished competitor. 

At the time the British forces were in the Chesapeake bay, and threat- 
ened an attack on Norfolk and Richmond, Mr. Tyler evinced a disposition 
to serve his country in the field as well as in tbe halls of legislation, by 
raising a volunteer company, and devoting himself assiduously to effecting 
an efficient organization of the militia in his neighborhood. Hence the 
title of " Captain Tyler," which was applied to him, in ridicule, when 
president of the United States. In the sequel, the troops under his com- 
mand were not brought into action, and his military career was, conse- 
quently, short and bloodless. 

During the session of 1815-16, while he was still a member of the 
house of delegates, Mr. Tyler was elected one of the executive council, 
in which capacity he acted until November, 1816, when, by the death 
of the Hon. John Clopton, a vacancy occurred in the representation in 



428 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 

Congress, from the Richmond district. Two candidates were presented, 
Mr. Andrew Stevenson, afterward distinguished in the national coun- 
cils, and then speaker of the house of delegates, and Mr. Tyler. The 
contest was severe, and enlisted to a great extent the public feeling, 
though it produced no cessation of the friendly relations which had 
always existed between the two opposing candidates. Mr. Stevenson 
was a most popular man in Richmond, his place of residence, but 
Mr. Tyler's popularity was not less great in his own and the neighbor- 
ing counties ; and, after a closely contested canvass, Mr. Tyler was 
elected, by a majority of only about thirty votes. It was a mere trial of 
personal popularity, as they were both of the same political principle ; 
and when Mr. Tyler retired from Congress, in 1821, he warmly advocated 
the election of Mr. Stevenson as his successor. 

Mr. Tyler took his seat in the house of representatives in December, 
1816, having reached the twenty-sixth year of his age the previous month 
of March. As a new member, custom, not less than the modesty which 
is ever the accompaniment of merit, prohibited him from taking a very 
active part in the proceedings of the house. Yet even during this period 
he was not idle, but occasionally participated in the discussions which 
occupied the short portion of time for which he had been elected. 

Having witnessed the inauguration of President Monroe, Mr. Tyler 
returned home to his constituents, in March, 1817, and the following month 
he received a testimonial of their approbation, in his re-election to Con- 
gress by an overwhelming majority over his former rival, Mr. Stevenson. 

In the fifteenth Congress many subjects of magnitude were brought for- 
ward and discussed. Among them were the Seminole war and the South 
American question. Mr. Clay, the speaker, introduced a proposition to 
acknowledge the independence of the provinces of Rio de la Plata, against 
which Mr. Tyler voted. He supported the resolutions of censure on the 
conduct of General Jackson in the Seminole war, taking the same view as 
some of his colleagues and Mr. Clay on that subject. The question of 
internal improvements by the general government was agitated at this 
session, as it had been by the previous Congress ; on both occasions Mr. 
Tyler voted against all the propositions offered in the house which coun- 
tenanced the doctrine of the possession of the power by the general gov- 
ernment, under the constitution, to make internal improvements. Thus 
he avowed on, all occasions, the stale-rights or strict construction doctrines 
of the dominant party in Virginia, on constitutional points. The conduct 
of the directors of the bank of the United States, which institution was 
chartered in 1816, was the subject of investigation at this session of Con- 
gress, and Mr. Tyler was placed on the committee appointed to inspect 
the concerns of the bank. When the report of the committee was made, 
Mr. Tyler supported a resolution offered by Mr. Trimble of Kentucky, re- 
quiring that a scire facias should be issued immediately against the bank. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 429 

In his speech on this occasion, Mr. Tyler avowed his belief that the cre- 
ation of this corporation was unconstitutional. 

In 1819, Mr. Tyler was re-elected to Congress, there being no oppo- 
sing candidate. He took an active part in the debates on the Missouri 
question, and on the proposed revision of the tariff. He opposed any re- 
strictions upon Missouri, on the admission of that state into the Union ; 
and also made an elaborate argument against the policy of a protective 
tariff. Ere the close of this Congress, increasing ill health compelled 
Mr. Tyler to resign his seat in that body. Placed on the committee of 
ways and means, at a time when the financial affairs of the country were 
in a most disordered condition, his whole time and energies were devoted 
to the fulfilment of his duties, and constant labor and confinement made 
fearful inroads upon a constitution not strong by nature. He left the 
house of representatives, carrying with him the reputation of an eloquent 
speaker, a constant advocate of popular rights, and a democrat of the 
school of Jefferson. He retired to his farm in Charles City county, 
among constituents who approved of his course in Congress, and were 
conscious that naught but physical inability had compelled him to leave 
their service. 

Mr. Tyler now returned to the practice of his profession, but he was 
not suffered long to remain in private life. In the spring of 1823, after 
much urgent solicitation, he consented to become again a candidate for 
the legislature, and was elected with little or no opposition, and, in De- 
cember, took his seat in that body which had been so early familiar to 
him. He soon took the lead in the debates of the house of delegates, and 
during the two years which followed, he having been twice re-elected, 
performed a most conspicuous part in all the proceedings. There was 
little of the legislation of Virginia at that period that did not bear the im- 
press of his hands. He was an ardent advocate of a comprehensive sys- 
tem of public improvement by the state. He regretted to see Virginia 
gradually falling from the high estate she had occupied in the Union ; and 
he put forth his utmost efforts to arrest the downward progress of the com- 
monwealth, and to arouse her dormant energies to a display of her vast 
resources. He was not wholly unsuccessful. The construction of roads 
and canals was liberally encouraged by the legislature, and many of the 
finest works in the state are monuments to the indefatigable exertions of 
John Tyler. 

In December, 1825, Mr. Pleasants's term of office having expired, Mr. 
Tyler was elected governor of Virginia. The ofiice, unsolicited and un- 
expected, was conferred upon him by a large vote, there being, on joint 
ballot of the two houses of the legislature, for Tyler 131, for Floyd 81, 
scattering 2. During his administration of Virginia, Mr. Tyler promoted 
the cause of internal improvement, and devoted himself also to the heal- 
ing of sectional disputes among the people. In July, 1825, he delivered. 



430 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER, 

at the capitol square, in Richmond, an eloquent eulogy on the death of 
Mr. Jefferson. 

During the next session of the legislature, Mr. Tyler was re-elected 
governor of Virginia by a unanimous vote. He was not, however, per- 
mitted to serve out his term. A senator of the United States was to be 
elected, for six years from the expiration of the term of John Randolph 
on the ensuing 4th of March. Mr. Randolph was the candidate of the 
democratic party for a re-election ; but the strange vagaries and singular 
conduct which had so far marked his career in the senate, had excited 
discontent with very many of that party, and, convinced that he was no 
longer a proper representative of the state of Virginia, they began to look 
about for some man who, professing the same principles as themselves, 
had the firmness and ability to set them forth, and the dignity and strength 
of character to cause them to be respected. The friends of Mr. Adams's 
administration being in the minority in the legislature, united with a few 
of their political opponents in the support of Governor Tyler, in justice to 
whom, it must be said, that he sought not the nomination. " On the con- 
trary," he remarked, in a letter written before the election, " I have con- 
stantly opposed myself to all solicitations. I desire, most earnestly, to be 
left at peace. There is no motive which could induce me to seek to 
change my present station for a seat in the senate at this time. I can not 
admit that to be one in a body of forty-eight members is to occupy a more 
elevated station than that presented in the chief magistracy of Virginia. 
My private interests, intimately connected with the good of my family, 
are more highly sustained by remaining where I am, than by the talked-of 
change." He also declared, in the same letter, that his political prefer- 
ences on the fundamental principles of the government were the same 
with those espoused by Mr. Randolph. 

Notwithstanding the positive manner in which he disclaimed any de- 
sire to be invested with the senatorial dignity, and the consequent loss of 
votes, Mr. Tyler was elected senator on the first ballot, the vote being for 
Tyler 115, Randolph 110. 

The committee of the legislature appointed to wait on Governor Tyler 
and announce to him his election as senator, used the following, among 
other remarks : "Allow us, sir, to express to you the satisfaction which 
we feel in this new proof of the confidence which Virginia places in your 
known integrity, talents, and patriotism, believing that, as in your past, so 
in your future public life, you will never disappoint her confidence, and 
ever study to promote her true happiness ; and while always faithfully 
representing, will ably and effectually vindicate her interests." 

Mr. Tyler, in his reply, said, " A sense of what is due to the legisla- 
tive will denies to me the privilege of giving longer audience to the sug- 
gestion of my feelings. That voice which called me to the chief magis- 
tracy, now makes upon me a new demand. I have opposed to it ray wishes 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 431 

and inclinations up to that period when acquiescence becomes a duty, and 
resistance would be censurable by all. I shall, then, in due season, ac- 
cept the appointment with which I have been honored. Be pleased, gen- 
tlemen, to bear to your respective houses my most profound acknowledg- 
ments for this distinguished testimonial of their confidence ; convey to 
them, renewed assurances of my unshaken allegiance to the constitution, 
as received and expounded by our fathers ; say to them, that if I carry 
with me into the national councils less of talent than many of my prede- 
cessors, yet that, in singleness of purpose, and in ardent devotion to the 
principles of civil liberty, I yield to none. If Virginia has changed her 
representative, her principles remain unaltered. Be assured, that the only 
and highest aspiration of my ambition consists in the desire of promoting 
tlie happiness of my native state, and that it shall be the untiring effort of 
my life to advance and vindicate her interests." 

This election, though regretted by the immediate friends of Mr. Ran- 
dolph and the most zealous of the democratic party in Virginia, who were 
desirous to retain Mr. Randolph in the senate, in consequence of his vio- 
lent hostility to the administration of Mr. Adams, was generally popular 
with the people of Virginia. Even the Richmond Enquirer, devoted as it 
was to Mr. Randolph's interests, in a paragraph regretting his failure, 
after enumerating a long list of causes which, it asserted, led to that re- 
sult, said, " Yet even this combination could not have succeeded in favor 
of any other man in the commonwealth than John Tyler, because he car- 
ried with him personal friends who would have voted for John Randolph 
in preference to any other man than himself;" thus giving the highest pos- 
sible evidence of the esteem in which Mr. Tyler was then held by the 
people of his native state. 

At the presidential election of 1824-'5, Mr. Tyler acted with a large 
majority of the politicians in the state, in giving a preference to William 
H. Crawford for the presidency, and that gentleman received the electoral 
vote of the state, and a decided expression of the popular will in his favor. 
When, however, the election wad determined by the house of representa- 
tives, in Congress, in favor of Mr. Adams, the Crawford party in Virginia 
were generally satisfied, as Mr. Adams was their second choice ; and Mr. 
Tyler wrote a letter to Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, approving of his vote for 
Mr. Adams, in preference to General Jackson ; but soon after the election 
of the former to the presidency, Mr. Tyler changed his views, and with 
most of the friends of Mr. Crawford, became an opponent of the adminis- 
tration. 

A few days after his election as senator, Mr. Tyler sent to the legisla- 
ture his resignation of the office of governor. The following is an extract 
from his message on that occasion : " The principles on which I have 
acted, without abandonment, in anyone instance, for the last sixteen years, 
in Congress and in the legislative hall of this state, will be the principles 



432 Bioor^APHrcAL sketch of tyler. 

by which I will regulate my future political life. Keeping them con- 
stantly in view, yielding them neither to the force of circumstances nor to 
the suggestions of expediency, and thereby seeking to promote the last- 
ing interests of my beloved country, if I do not acquire the individual con- 
fidence of Virginia, I shall at least have preserved my own consistency, and 
secured my peace of mind through the days of my increasing years, and 
in the hour of my final dissolution." 

Upon the occasion of his retirement from the chief magistracy of the 
state, he was invited to a public dinner, by a large number of the mem- 
bers of the legislature, and of the citizens of Richmond. In answer to 
the following toast — " John Tyler, our friend and guest — a republican too 
firm to be driven from his principles — too upright to be swerved by the 
laws of ambition or power" — Mr. Tyler, among other remarks, said : — 

" I can be at no loss to ascribe this manifestation of public respect to its 
proper source. It flows from the late senatorial election, and the inci- 
dents connected with it. I place upon it, therefore, the highest possible 
value. The recesses of my heart have been attempted to be scanned 
with the view of detecting some lurking wish at variance with my public 
declarations. Had I desired a change, what was there to have prevented 
me from openly seeking it ? Are not the offices of the republic equally 
open to all its citizens ? When was an exclusive monopoly established ? 
or when was it before that ' Rome contained but one man' ? Virginia, 
thank Heaven, depends upon no one of her citizens, however distinguished 
by talents, for her character or standing. She has been compared to the 
mother of the Gracchii, and I trust that she may still be permitted to be 
proud of her sons. For one who had been taught from early infancy that 
golden rule, that, next to his Creator, his first duty belonged to his coun- 
try, and his last to himself, how could I have stood acquitted, had I 
permitted private considerations to have controlled the obligations of pub- 
lic duty ? By accepting the appointment, while I interfered with the pre- 
tensions of no other citizen, I have acquitted myself of a sacred obliga- 
tion." 

After speaking at large upon the administration, and what he had hoped 
would have been the policy of Mr. Adams, he said : — 

" Candor requires me here publicly to say, that his first splendid mes- 
sage to Congress long since withered all my hopes. I saw in it an almost 
total disregard of the federative principle — a more latitudinous construction 
of the constitution than has ever before been insisted on ; lying not so 
much in the particular measures recommended — which, though bad enough, 
had some excuse in precedent — as in the broad and general principles 
there laid down as the basis of governmental duty. From the moment of 
seeing that message, all who have known anything of me have known 
that I stood distinctly opposed to this administration ; not from a factious 
spirit, not with a view to elevate a favorite, or to advance myself, but on 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 433 

the great principles which have regulated my past life. I honestly be- 
lieve the preservation of the federative principles of our government to be 
inseparably connected with the perpetuation of liberty." 

This public compliment w^as given him on the 3d of March 1827, the 
last day of the period during which he occupied the office of governor. 
On the 3d of December, 1827, Mr. Tyler took his seat in the senate of 
the United States, and at once arrayed himself with the opposition, which, 
arising from the circumstances attending Mr. Adams's election, and com- 
bining the supporters of Jackson, Crawford, and Calhoun, finally over- 
threw the administration. There were many minor points upon which 
the opposition acted with little or no unity ; consisting of men who had 
but a short time before held conflicting political relations — they were, nev- 
ertheless, firmly united against the administration, and resolute in combat- 
ing its policy and doctrines ; and at the time of Mr. Tyler's entering the 
senate, the entire opposition had rallied in the support of General Jackson. 

In accordance with the Virginia doctrines respecting the powers of the 
general government, and the policy of the country respecting trade and 
commerce, which also coincided with the views entertained by Mr. Tyler 
himself, he voted against the tariff bill of 1828, and the various projects 
for internal improvement which were introduced. In the debate concern- 
ing the powers of the vice-president, Mr. Tyler participated, supporting 
the positions assumed by Mr. Calhoun, who then occupied the chair of 
the senate. 

On the accession of General Jackson to the presidency, Mr. Tyler sup- 
ported his administration, concurring, in this respect, with a large majority 
of the people of Virginia. He, however, pursued an independent course 
in the senate, disapproving of some of the nominations of the president, 
and holding, as he did, to a strict construction of the constitution, in 1831 
he opposed the appropriation to pay the negotiators of the treaty with Tur- 
key, as that mission had not been authorized by Congress. Though a 
sincere friend of the administration, he regarded this act of General Jack- 
son, in appointing commissioners, as a dangerous stretch of the presiden- 
tial power ; and while he by no means withdrew his support from the 
general policy of the party then in power, he felt bound to declare his 
opinion of acts which all his ideas of constitutional authority led him to 
reprobate. 

To projects of internal improvement by the general government, Mr. 
Tyler was uniformly opposed, believing them unconstitutional, as we have 
already stated. He therefore highly approved of General Jackson's veto 
on the Maysville road bill, the passage of which he had previously op- 
posed in the senate, in a speech of considerable length. The subject of 
the tariff being brought before the senate at the session of 1831-2, by 
Mr. Clay, in a resolution proposing certain changes in the existing duties, 
a long and able debate arose thereon, in which Mr. Tyler participated. 
28 



434 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER, 

His speech on this occasion was continued for three days, and evinced an 
extensive knowledge of the subject ; and it was characterized by a warmth, 
earnestness, and depth of eloquence, which gave ample evidence of the 
intensity of his feeling on a topic which then excited much of the public 
attention at the south. He was opposed to a tariff specially for the pro- 
tection of home industry, but in favor of a tariff for revenue which might 
incidentally afford such protection, and he expressed an anxiety for such 
an adjustment of the question as would restore peace and harmony to the 
Union. 

The question of renewing the charter of the bank of the United States 
came up at the same session. Mr. Tyler steadily opposed the bill to 
modify and continue in force that institution, at every step of its progress 
through the senate, and voted against it on its final passage. After re- 
ceiving the sanction of the house of representatives, the bill renewing the 
charter of the bank was defeated by the veto of President Jackson. 

For the confirmation of Mr. Van Buren, who was nominated at this 
session for minister to England, Mr. Tyler gave his vote ; and viewing the 
tariff of 1832 as a continuance of the system of protection, he voted 
ag-ainst that measure, although the duties on imports were much reduced 
thereby, on many articles. With the nullifiers of South Carolina Mr. 
Tyler sympathized ; and when the president took decided ground against 
the anti-tariff and nullifying proceedings of that state, the Virginia senator 
did not hesitate to withdraw his support from the administration, on the 
ground that they had abandoned the principles of state-rights, as he under- 
stood them, on which General Jackson had been supported in the south- 
ern states, and to which he owed his election as president. A bill called 
the force bill being introduced into the senate, to provide for the collection 
of the revenue, and vesting extraordinary powers in the president, Mr. 
Tyler opposed it in an animated speech. After a lengthened debate, the 
bill, was passed, Mr. Tyler's being the only name in the negative. The 
other opponents of the bill, Mr. Calhoun at their head, left the senate- 
chamber when the vote was taken, considering further opposition useless. 
During the progress of the bill, however, efforts were made in both houses 
to terminate the controversy peaceably. Mr. Clay finally introduced a 
bill in the senate, in February, 1833, which, conceived in the spirit of 
concession inculcated in the speech of Mr. Tyler, united the opposing 
parties in its favor, and passed the senate, with few dissenting voices. 
For this Mr. Tyler voted, and the bill, so celebrated since as Mr. Clay's 
compromise act, having previously passed the house, received the signa- 
ture of the president. 

During the preceding session of Congress, Mr. Tyler was re-elected to 
the senate for six years from the 4th of March, 1833. The most promi- 
nent among the proceedings of Congress, at the session of 1 833-'4, was 
the action of the two houses upon the removal of the deposites. In the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 435 

interim between the last adjournment and the commencement of that ses- 
sion, the president determined upon removing the public moneys from the 
bank of the United States. Mr. Duane, the secretary of the treasury, having 
refused to comply with the wishes of the president, was dismissed from 
office, and Mr. Taney was appointed in his place, after which the will of the 
president vras accomplished. Early in the session the subject was taken 
up in the senate, and resolutions of censure against the president, intro- 
duced by Mr. Clay, were adopted. For these resolutions Mr. Tyler 
voted, as did the senators from the south and west who held state-rights 
doctrines, and who now acted v/ith Mr. Calhoun, in opposition to the ad- 
ministration of General Jackson. These, joined with the original oppo- 
nents of the administration, formed a decided majority in the senate. 

Mr. Tyler took an active part in the debate on the removal of the de- 
posites. However unconstitutional he thought the establishment of the 
bank of the United States, it had been established by law, and by the 
same law it was made the depository of the public money ; and any act by 
a public officer in derogation of that law, was as much deserving of, and 
as quickly received his censure, as if he had been the most ardent sup- 
porter of the institution. In his views he was sustained by instructions 
from Virginia, which state he said was exactly where she always had been 
— against the assumption of pov/er by the Congress or by the president. 
" Her instructions to me," he continued, " convey the information, that she 
is against the bank, as she has always been ; can any man find his apol- 
ogy for ratifying the late proceedings of the executive department, in the 
mere fact that the bank of the United States is a great evil ; that it ought 
never to have been created ; and that it should not be rechartered ? For 
one, I say, if it is to die, let it die by law. It is a corporate existence 
created by law, and while it exists, entitled to the protection which the 
law throws around private rights. This, sir, is the aspect in which I re- 
gard this question ; and this, I am instructed to say, is the light in which 
Virginia regards it." 

The call was often made upon the committee of finance, of which Mr. 
Tyler was a member, to report a scheme of treasury agency. Mr. Tyler 
answered that he could see no propriety for that call, until the sense of 
the senate should be expressed upon the resolutions then under their con- 
sideration. If the executive were sustained in the power it had exerted 
over the subject, then Congress had nothing to do with it. The great 
question before the country was, whether Congress or the president was 
to be charged with the keeping of the treasury. The latter had already 
decided to establish a treasury agency himself, and if Congress affirmed 
that he had done so with full power and authority, that would be decisive 
of the question as to legislative cognizance. The executive authority 
was, in such case, coextensive with the whole subject, and the legislature 
■would encroach upon his rights if it acted at all. 



436 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 

At this session, Mr. Tyler, from the committee on finance, which had 
been directed to inquire into the condition and affairs of the United States 
bank, made an able and voluminous report thereon. The report was as- 
sailed by Mr. Benton, immediately upon its introduction into the senate, 
and in reply to him, Mr. Tyler entered into a defence of the document, 
and from his remarks we make the following extracts : — 

" Nothing," said he, " would please me more than to have the report 
which has been so furiously attacked by the senator from Missouri, re- 
ferred to another committee for their most rigid examination ; and I would 
be well pleased that he be one of the committee. Let him summon his 
witnesses, and take depositions without number ; let him then return with 
his budget to the house, and lay them, with or without an air of triumph, 
on the table. He would find himself mistaken. All his witnesses com- 
bined would not be able to overthrow the testimony upon which the report 
of the committee is based. There is not a single declaration in the report 
which is not founded upon testimony which cannot lie — written docu- 
mentary evidence which no party testimony can overcome." 

" The honorable senator has denominated the report ' an elaborate de- 
fence of the bank.' If he had paid more attention to the reading, or had 
waited to have it in print, he would not have hazarded such a declaration. 
The committee have presented both sides of the question ; the view most 
favorable, and that most unfavorable to the institution." 

" He has loudly talked of the committee having been made an instru- 
ment of by the bank. For myself, I renounce the ascription. I must tell 
the senator that I can no more be made an instrument of by the bank, than 
by the still greater and more formidable power, the administration. I 
stand upon this floor to accomplish the purposes for which I am sent. In 
the consciousness of my own honesty, I stand firm and erect. I worship 
alone at the shrine of truth and honor. It is a precious thing in the eyes 
of some, to bask in the sunshine of power. I rest only upon the support 
which has never failed me — the high and lofty feeling of my constituents. 
I would not be an instrument even in their hands, if it were possible for 
them to require it of me, to gratify an unrighteous motive." 

" The committee, in their investigations, have sought for nothing but 
the truth. I am opposed — have always been opposed — to the bank. In 
its creation I regard the constitution as having been violated, and I desire 
to see it expire. But the senate appointed me, with others, to inquire 
whether it was guilty of certain charges, and I should regard myself as 
the basest of mankind were I to charge it falsely. The report is founded 
on unquestionable documentary evidence. I shall hold myself ready to 
answer all the objections which can be raised against it, and to prove, 
from the documents themselves, that the report is made with the utmost 
fairness, and the most scrupulous regard to truth." 

The extracts from Mr. Tyler's speeches and otJier productions, which 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 437 

we have given, serve to elucidate his political character and modes of 
thinking, as well as to exhibit the uniformity of his course, in adherino- 
with singular teuacity to the doctrines of state-rights and strict construc- 
tion of the Virginia school of democracy. His course in the senate 
effected a separation between him and that portion of the democratic party 
in Virginia, who still adhered to General Jackson, and who, in the sequel, 
supported Mr. Van JBuren for the presidency. But there was still a wide 
difference between the principles and views entertained by Mr. Tyler, and 
those of the original opponents of General Jackson, who formed the largest 
proportion of the party which took the name of whigs, previous to the 
presidential election of 1836. 

Near the close of the session, in March, 1835, Mr. Tyler was elected 
president of the senate pro tempore, by the united votes of the whig and 
state-rights senators. On taking tlie chair, he made a brief and eloquent 
address, in the course of which he said : " You are the representatives 
of sovereign states, deputed by them to uphold and maintain their rights 
and interests. You may severally, in your turn, have become the objects 
of attack and denunciation before the public ; but there is not, and can 
not be an American who does not turn his eyes on the senate of the Uni- 
ted States, as to the great conservative body of our federal system, and to 
this chamber as the ark in which the covenant is deposited. To have 
received, therefore, at your hands, this station, furnishes to me abundant 
cause for self-gratulation." 

One of the last acts of Mr. Tyler, at this session, was to vote against the 
amendment made by the house of representatives to the fortification bill, 
placing three millions of dollars at the disposal of the president, to pro- 
vide for anticipated difficulties with France. This was a proposition to 
place the war-making power, belonging solely to Congress, in the hands 
of the president. The amendment was disagreed to by the senate, and 
Congress adjourned without passing the bill. 

At the next session, that of 1835 — '6, during the brief period he re- 
mained in the senate, Mr. Tyler took an active part in behalf of the suf- 
ferers by the great fire in New York, and supported the bill introduced 
into Congress for their relief. In February, 1836, the legislature of Vir- 
ginia passed resolutions instructing the senators from that state to vote for 
a resolution directing the resolution of March 28, 1834, to be expunged 
from the journal of the senate. These resolutions were then, by direc- 
tion of the general assembly, forwarded, by the speakers of the respective 
houses, to the senators from Virginia. 

Mr. Leigh, the colleague of Mr. Tyler, in answer to the resolutions, 
wrote a long and able letter, in which, while he acknowledged«the right of 
instruction in all cases where no constitutional point was involved, or 
where any doubt existed as to the constitutionality of any particular meas- 
ure, he denied that he was bound to obey any instruction commanding 



438 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 

him to do an act which, in his conscientious opinion, would be, in itself, 
a plain violation of the instrument he was sworn to support, and in its 
consequences dangerous and mischievous in the extreme. He concluded 
his letter by declaring, that he would neither obey thp instructions given 
him, nor resign his seat, and expressed the determination to vindicate the 
resolutions of the 28th of March, 1834, at any time when they should be 
brought under consideration. Mr. Leigh, however, resigned his seat 
in 1836. 

Mr. Tyler took a somewhat different course from his colleague ; and 
his conduct on the occasion greatly elevated him in the estimation of the 
public, particularly among the advocates of the doctrine of instruction. 
He might well have been held excusable, even by them, if he had refused 
to obey the instructions, and had retained his seat, for he was supported by 
the fact that the very vote he was now called upon to expunge was given 
under instructions, if not as explicit, at least quite as decisive of the opin- 
ion of the legislature as those now presented. But he was not willing 
then to overthrow or mar in the least degree the consistency of his previ- 
ous life, with regard to the right of instruction. As his first act in the 
legislature of his own state had been the advocacy of that principle, so 
the first speech he had ever made in the Congress of the United States 
was declaratory of what he considered the same truth — the right of the 
constituent to instruct — the duty of the representative to obey. He could 
not obey the instructions he had received without falsifying his own judg- 
ment, and violating his conscience by a breach of that constitution he had 
sworn to support, a clause of which requires that the senate shall " keep 
a journal of its proceedings, and publish it from time to time ;" and in 
such circumstances he was not long in deciding to surrender into the 
hands of those who gave it, or rather their successors, the honorable place 
with which he had been intrusted. He could not silently submit, how- 
ever, to be instructed out of his seat, and he took the opportunity to lay 
before the people of the state and the public generally, in his letter of 
resignation to the legislature of Virginia, an exhibition of the principles by 
which his public life had thus far been guided, and of the motives by 
which his present conduct was ruled. The following are extracts from 
this letter, dated Washington, February 20, 1836 : — 

" I now reaffirm the opinion at all times heretofore expressed by me, 
that instructions are mandatory, provided they do not require a violation 
of the constitution, or the commission of an act of moral turpitude. In 
the course of a somewhat long political life, it must have occurred that 
my opinions have been variant from the opinions of those I represent; but 
in presenting to me the alternative of resignation in this instance, you 
give me to be distinctly informed that the accomplishment of your object 
is regarded as of such primary importance that my resignation is desired 
if compliance can not be yielded. I am bound to consider you as in this 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 439 

fairly representing the sentiments of our common constituents, the people 
of Virginia, to whom alone you are amenable if you have mistaken their 
wishes. , 

'* In voting for the resolution of the senate, against which you are now 
so indignant, I did no more than carry out the people's declared views of the 
legislature, as expressed in their resolutions of that day, and which were 
passed by overwhelming majorities of more than two to one in both hou- 
ses. The terms employed by the legislature were strong and decided. 
The conduct of the president was represented as dangerous and alarming. 
I was told that it could not be too strongly condemned ; that he had mani- 
fested a disposition greatly to extend his official influence ; and because, 
with these declarations before me, I voted for a resolution which declares 
' that the president, in the late executive proceedings, has assumed upon 
himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws, 
but in derogation of both,' I am now ostracized by your fiat, which requires 
obedience or resignation. Compare the resolutions of the general assem- 
bly of that day with the above resolution, and its mildness will be entirely 
obvious. I submit, with all due deference, to yourselves, what is to be 
the condition of the senator in future, if, for yielding obedience to the 
wishes of one legislature, he is to be called upon to resign by another ? 
If he disobeys the first, he is contemned ; if he obeys the last, he violates 
his oath, and becomes an object of scorn and contempt. I respectfully 
ask, if this be the mode by which the great right of instructions is to be 
sustained, may it not degenerate into an engine of faction — an instrument 
to be emploj'ed by the outs to get in, instead of being directed to noble 
purposes — to the advancement of the cause of civil liberty ? May it not 
be converted into a political guillotine, devoted to the worst of purposes? 
Nor are these anticipations at all weakened by the fact, as it existed in 
the case now under consideration, that several of those who constitute the 
present majority in the general assembly, and who now call upon me to 
expunge the journal or to resign my seat, actually voted for the very reso- 
lutions of a previous session, to which I have referred. 

" I dare not touch the journal of the senate. The constitution forbids 
it. In the midst of all the agitations of party, I have heretofore stood by 
that sacred instrument. It is the only post of honor and of safety. A 
seat in the senate is sufficiently elevated to fill the measure of any man's 
ambition ; and as an evidence of the sincerity of my convictions that your 
resolutions can not be executed, without violating my oath, I surrender 
into your hands three unexpired years of my term. I shall carry with 
me into retirement, the principles which I brought with me into public 
life, and by the surrender of the high station to which I was called by the 
voice of the people of Virginia, I shall set an example to my children 
which shall teach them to regard as nothing place and office, when to be 
either obtained or held at the sacrifice of honor." 



44.0 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 

At the same time, Mr. Tyler placed in the hands of the president of the 
senate, Mr. Van Buren, a letter informing the senate that he had resigned 
into the h%nds of the general assembly of Virginia his seat as a senator 
from that state. Mr. Rives was elected, by the legislature of Virginia, to 
fill the vacancy occasioned by Mr. Tyler's resignation, and the latter re- 
tired once more to his home and the practice of his profession. His 
course was highly commended, not only in Virginia, but throughout the 
Union. Soon after his retirement, a public dinner was given to Mr. 
Leigh and himself, and the following was among the toasts expressing 
similar feelings : " Our honored guest, John Tyler — ' Expunged' from a 
post that he adorned, and the functions of which he ever faithfully and 
ably discharged, by the complying tools of an unprincipled aspirant, he is 
but the more endeared to the hearts of his countrymen." 

Some time in 1830, Mr. Tyler had removed from Charles City county 
to Gloucester, where his family had resided until the present year. He 
now again removed to Williamsburg, the ancient dwelling-place of his 
fathers; and though his name was, in 1836, placed upon the electoral 
ticket of some of the states, as a candidate for the vice-presidency, he 
mingled very little, for a time, in political matters, devoting himself exclu- 
sively to his private pursuits. 

He was first nominated for vice-president in Maryland, in December, 
1835, and in that state placed on the ticket with General Harrison, the 
whig candidate for president. He also received, in 1836, the support of 
the friends of Judge White in the states where that gentleman was the 
candidate for president against Mr. Van Buren ; but Maryland was the 
only state that voted for Harrison which gave its electoral vote to Mr. Ty- 
ler. He, however, received the votes of South Carolina (which state gave 
its vote to Mr. Mangura, of North Carolina, for president), Georgia, and 
Tennessee, for vice-president, in addition to the votes of Maryland, making 
47 in all , Francis Granger receiving the votes of the other states in the 
opposition, including Kentucky. It thus appears that Mr. Tyler was not 
in 1836 considered the whig candidate for vice-president, his principal 
support for that ofiice being derived from the state-rights party of the 
south and west, who in some respects co-operated with the whigs in op- 
position to Jackson and Van Buren. Virginia refused to vote for Richard 
M. Johnson for vice-president, but as the friends of Jackson and Van Bu- 
ren controlled the electoral vote of the state, it was not given to Mr. Tyler, 
but to William Smith, of Alabama. • 

In the spring of 1838, Mr. Tyler was elected by the whigs of James 
City county, a member of the house of delegates of Virginia ; and during 
the subsequent session of the legislature he acted with the whig party, 
under which name the different sections of the opposition to Mr. Van Bu- 
ren's administration gradually became amalgamated in Virginia. 

In 1839, Mr, Tyler was elected one of the delegates from Virginia to 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 4-11 

the whig national convention which met at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to 
nominate candidates for president and vice-president of the United States. 
It is well known that Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, was the favorite candidate of 
the delegates from the southern states, in that convention. The course of Mr. 
Clay in the senate, on many occasions, particularly in bringing about a set- 
tlement of the controversy respecting the tariff and South Carolina nullifi- 
cation, had rendered him popular with the state-rights section of the whigs, 
and they were anxious for his nomination to the presidency. In this feel- 
ing Mr. Tyler warmly participated, with all the Virginia delegation. He 
was chosen one of the vice-presidents of the convention, and exerted his 
influence in favor of Mr. Clay. General Harrison, however, was nomina- 
ted for president, and Mr. Tyler was among those who expressed their 
deep regrets at the defeat of Mr. Clay as a candidate. 

The question of a candidate for president had so much absorbed the 
attention of the whigs, that the subject of a candidate for vice-president 
had attracted but little attention. When General Harrison was nomina- 
ted for the first office, it became necessary, in the judgment of the dele- 
gates, to take a candidate for vice-president from the south, and, after a 
brief consultation, the nomination was offered to Mr. Tyler, and accepted. 
As he was an ardent friend of Mr. Clay, it was supposed that this nomi- 
nation would be popular with the friends of that gentleman, under the feel- 
ings of disappointment with which it was anticipated they would receive 
the nomination of General Harrison. Had the event of Mr. Tyler's suc- 
cession to the presidency been contemplated, it can not be doubted that a 
scrutiny of his principles, and the remembrance of his course and action 
on cherished whig measures, would have caused more hesitancy in pla- 
cing him on the presidential ticket, if not his prompt rejection, by the 
whig convention. 

The speeches, letters, and declarations of Mr. Tyler, during the canvass 
of 1840, were generally satisfactory to the whigs, and gave reasonable 
expectation that he would co-operate with General Harrison and Mr. 
Clay in carrying out the wishes of the whig party, if successful in the 
election. 

The triumph of the whigs, which elevated General Harrison to the 
presidency, Mr. Tyler to the vice-presidency, and secured a whig majority 
in both houses of Congress, we have elsewhere related in this volume. 
It only remains to mention, in this place, that the sudden and lamented 
death of President Harrison, in one month after his inauguration, devolved 
upon Mr. Tyler, in April, 1841, the high and responsible duties of presi- 
dent of the United States. The events of the succeeding four years will 
be found in our history of his administration. 

There can be no doubt that Mr. Tyler mistook his position in attempt- 
ing to act with the whig party, and in accepting their nomination for one 
of the highest ofiices in the nation, which, by the dispensation of Providence, 



442 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TYLER. 

placed him in tlio presidential chair, clothed with the power and patron- 
age of that high station. That the whigs also acted without due reflec- 
tion, in his nomination, is alike evident ; and from these two causes 
flowed the consequences Avhich resulted in the embarrassment, difficul- 
ties, and total loss of popularity with both the great parties of the country, 
on the one side, of the president, and bitter disappointment and chagrin 
on the part of the whigs. 

In person, Mr. Tyler is rather tall and thin, with light complexion, blue 
eyes, and prominent features. His manners are plain and aff'able, and in 
private life he is amiable, hospitable, and courteous. His errors as a 
politician are ascribed, by some, to a want of judgment, to an inordinate 
vanity, and the influence of bad advice ; to which may be added, extreme 
obstinacy in persisting in opinions once formed, without regard to conse- 
quences. 

In 1813, at the age of twenty-three, Mr. Tyler married a lady about 
his own age, Miss Letitia Christian, daughter of Robert Christian, Esq., of 
New Kent county, Virginia. She was a lady much esteemed by her ac- 
quaintances, as a wife, a mother, a friend, and a Christian, being for many 
years a member of the episcopal church. She died at Washington, Sep- 
tember 10, 1842, leaving three sons and three daughters. While presi- 
dent of the United States, Mr. Tyler was again married, to Mis? Julia 
Gardiner, of New York, daughter of the late David Gardiner, Esq., of that 
city, who was killed by an explosion on board the steamship Princeton, in 
February, 1844. The marriage of the president took place at New York, 
on the 26th of June, 1844. Since his retirement from the presidency, 
Mr. Tyler has resided at his seat near Williamsburg, Virginia. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 



In consequence of the decease of William H. Harrison, president of the 
United States, on the 4th of April, 1841, being one month after his inau- 
guration, the duties of the executive office devolved upon John Tyler, the 
vice-president, elected at the same time with President Harrison. Im- 
mediately after the decease of the president, Mr. Fletcher Webster, chief 
clerk in the department of state, accompanied by Mr. Beall, an officer of 
the senate, set out for the residence of the vice-president, in Virginia, 
bearing to him the following letter : — 

" Washington, April 4, 1841. 
" To John Tyler, Vice-President of the United States : — 

" Sir : It has become our most painful duty to inform you that William 
Henry Harrison, late president of the United States, has departed this 
life. 

" This distressing event took place this day, at the president's mansion, 
in this city, at thirty minutes before one, in the morning. 

" We lose no time in despatching the chief clerk in the state depart- 
ment, as a special messenger to bear you the melancholy tidings. 

" We have the honor to be, with the highest regard your obedient ser- 
vants. 

" Daniel Webster, Secretary of State, 

" Thomas Ewing, Secretary of the Treasury, 

"John Bell, Secretary of War, ■ 

" John J. Crittenden, Attorney-General, 

" Francis Granger, P ostmaster-General." 

By the extraordinary despatch used in sending the official intelligence 
to the vice-president, at Williamsburg, and a similar despatch by him in 
repairing to the seat of government, Mr. Tyler arrived in Washington on 
Tuesday morning, the 6lh of April, at four o'clock, and took lodgings at 
Brown's hotel. 

At twelve o'clock all the heads of departments, with the exception of the 
secretary of the navy, Mr. Badger, who was then absent on a visit to his 
family, waited upon President Tyler, to pay him their official and personal 
respects. They were received by him with politeness and kindness. He 
signified his deep feeling of the public calamity sustained by the death of 



444 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

!t*resident Harrison, and expressed his profound sensibility to the heavy re- 
sponsibilities so suddenly devolved upon himself. He spoke of the present 
state of things with great concern and seriousness, and made known his 
wishes that the several heads of departments would continue to fill the 
places which they then respectively occupied ; and expressed his confi- 
dence that they would afford all the aid in their power to enable him to 
carry on the administration of the government successfully. 

The president then took and subscribed the following oath of office : — 
" I do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of presi- 
dent of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, 
protect, and defend, the constitution of the United States. 

" John Tyler. 
"April 6, 1841." 

" District of Columbia, ) 
" City and County of Was/migton, } 
" I, William Cranch, chief judge of the circuit court of the District of 
Columbia, certify that the above-named John Tyler personally appeared 
before me this day, and although he deems himself qualified to perform 
the duties and exercise the powers and office of president, on the death 
of William Henry Harrison, late president of the United States, without 
any other oath than that which he has taken as vice-president, yet, as 
doubts may arise, and for greater caution, took and subscribed the forego- 
ing oath before me. 

"W. Cranch. 
"^;?n7 6, 1841." 

On the following day, the new president attended the funeral of 
President Harrison, taking the place assigned him in the procession, 
following the heads of departments, after the family and relations of 
the late president. Two days after this solemn pageant was over, an 
inaugural address to the people of the United States, which will be 
found in the preceding pages, was issued by President Tyler, through the 
public press ; the principles of which address gave general satisfaction. 
Although some of the expressions were somewhat ambiguous, the whig 
party was relieved from anxiety by the general tone and sentiments of the 
address ; and confidence was felt that the president would co-operate 
with the majority of Congress in carrying out the views and desires of 
those by whom he had been elected. There were those, however, among 
the prominent whigs (of whom the late Hon. Samuel L. Southard, of New' 
Jersey, and then president of the senate pro te?n., was one), who had long 
known Mr. Tyler, and carefully observed his course in the councils of the 
nation, who apprehended that he would carry with him into the presidency 
his peculiar notions of a strict construction of the constitution, imbibed ia 
the Virginia school of democracy, involving principles which, if carried 
out, would prove repugnant to the views of public policy entertained by 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 445 

the whig party, and defeat measures which they deemed necessary to re- 
store the prosperity of the country. Nor were these apprehensions allayed, 
even when Mr. Tyler was understood to have said, on his arrival at Wash- 
ington, after the death of Harrison, " You have but exchanged one whig 
for another." 

The cabinet which had been appointed by General Harrison, was re- 
tained by President Tyler, namely, Daniel Webster, of Massachusetts, 
secretary of state ; Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, secretary of the treasury ; 
John Bell, of Tennessee, secretary of war; George E. Badger, of North 
Carolina, secretary of the navy ; Francis Granger, of New York, postmas- 
ter-general ; John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, attorney-general. The re- 
tention of this cabinet, distinguished for its ability and for its possession 
of the confidence of the whig party, tended to confirm the feelings of hope 
and confidence inspired by the inaugural address of President Tyler. 

In conformity with the general feelings of sorrow and regret which per- 
vaded the public mind on the death of the chief magistrate of the nation, 
his successor recommended a day of fasting and prayer, to be observed 
by the people of the United States. 

In entering upon the duties of the office of president, Mr. Tyler did not 
feel (to use his own words, in his message to Congress) that it would be 
becoming in him to disturb what had been ordered by his lamented prede- 
cessor. He therefore concurred in the measure which had been adopted 
by President Harrison, of convening Congress in extra session on the 
31st of May. " His own first wish," he stated, " in the circumstances in 
which he was so unexpectedly placed, would have been, to have called to 
his aid, in the administration of public affairs, the combined wisdom of the 
two houses of Congress, in order to take their counsel and advice as 
to the best mode of extricating the government and the country from the 
embarrassments weighing heavily on both." 

After the call of the extra session, and previous to the meeting, mem- 
bers of Congress were elected in the states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, In- 
diana, Illinois, and Missouri. The state of Mississippi was not repre- 
sented at the extra session, as no special election was ordered, and the 
annual election in that state took place in the month of November follow- 
ing. The members from Illinois were elected at the annual election in 
August, and took their seats in the house during the session. 

The result of the elections at this time were equally favorable to the 
whig party with those which took place in 1840, immediately preceding 
the presidential election. The majority in favor of the new administra- 
tion in the 27th Congress, according to the returns of members elect, was 
seven in the senate, and one vacancy ; and about fifty in the house of 
representatives. 

Tho hopes of the democratic incumbents in office, which were awa- 



446 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

kened on the accession of Mr. Tyler to the presidency, were soon dissipa- 
ted by the course he felt bound to pursue with regard to removals and 
appointments. The applications and importunities of office-seekers, which 
had commenced immediately after the inauguration of President Harrison, 
and which were temporarily suspended by his death, were renewed with 
increased vigor after his successor was invested with the power and pa- 
tronage of the executive. A few days only had transpired after his acces' 
sion, when the removal of the friends of the late administration from office 
was commenced by the new president ; and their places were filled by 
whigs and conservatives. The removals and appointments continued to 
follow each other in rapid succession, and a similar course was pursued 
by the postmaster-general, with the sanction of the president, with respect 
to the numerous postmasters throughout the Union. President Tyler thus 
showed a disposition to gratify the desires and expectations of his political 
friends, with regard to office, even before the senate had an opportunity to 
act on the subject. 

A brief review and notice of political parties in the United States, at 
this period, is deemed appropriate in this place, for the purpose of show- 
ing the position of the president and the new administration, with regard, 
to measures of public policy and the course of events. 

We have seen, in the sketches already given of various administrations, 
that the federal party which was thrown into the minority on the acces- 
sion of Jefferson, and continued in opposition to the administration of that 
president, and that of his successor, Mr. Madison, became extinct, as a 
national party, soon after the termination of the war with Great Britain in 
1815. In some of the states the name was kept up for a short period, but 
after a few feeble struggles the name of federalist became so unpopular 
that it was abandoned during the administration of President Monroe, 
whose management of the affairs of the nation was so satisfactory to all 
parties, that opposition for a time ceased. The parties which were sub- 
sequently formed for the support of Adams, Jackson, Crawford, and Clay, 
for the presidency, were more of a personal character than marked by 
distinct political principles ; those who had been called federalists as well 
as democrats being found among the adherents of each of those candidates 
for the presidency. When General Jackson was elected president, his 
supporters claimed the name of democrats, and his opponents at first called 
themselves national republicans, but when joined by seceders from the 
administration ranks, in 1833 and '34, they took the name of whigs. Thus 
the two great national parties which divided the country at the accession 
of Mr. Van Buren to the president, in 1837, were respectively known by 
the name of democrats and whigs. With the latter, several minor parties 
of more limited extent, or local in character, generally acted, and the 
greater portion of these parlies gradually became amalgamated with, and 
formed part of, the whig party. Such were the anti-masons of the mid- 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 447 

die and eastern states ; the state-rights men of the south who disapproved 
of the removal of the pubHc deposites from the United States bank, and 
other acts of General Jackson ; and those supporters of General Jackson 
in Tennessee, Georgia, and other states, who were opposed to Mr. Van 
Buren as his successor. 

The party called democratic, which supported the administration of 
General Jackson, and Mr. Van Buren as his successor, became them- 
selves divided, particularly in the northern and middle states, even previ- 
ous to the election of the latter to the presidency. In 1835, there arose 
in the city of New York, in the ranks of the democratic party, a combina- 
tion in opposition to banks and other moneyed institutions, which after- 
ward took the name of locofocos, or equal-rights party. The working- 
men's party, which arose in the cities of New York and Philadelphia, in 
1829, and dissolved in about two years afterward, was the progenitor, to 
some extent, of the locofoco or equal-rights party. Certain it is, that 
most of the measures advocated by the former (some of which were intro- 
duced into the United States from Great Britain, by Mr. Robert Dale 
Owen and Miss Frances Wright, who for some time published a newspa- 
per in New York, called " The Free Enquirer") were decidedly popu- 
lar with the latter, and both were equally hostile to banks, and other 
moneyed institutions, which they considered monopolies. Nevertheless, it 
was Andrew Jackson, in his contest with the bank of the United States, 
who enkindled the highest opposition in that direction, and the enthusiasm 
which he excited against the national bank soon extended itself to state 
banks. The New York election of 1834, with the strong pledge against 
monopolies which the candidates for members of Congress and the legis- 
lature, of the democratic party in that city, were required to sign, together 
with speeches and resolutions of the same character, at political meetings, 
as well as the circumstances previously mentioned, all combined to plant 
deeply in the minds of that party the seeds of hostility to monopolies. 
Consequently, the democratic party became divided within itself. On the 
one side (in favor of banks and other corporations) were the great majority 
of the leading men of the party, and nearly all the office-holders under the 
general, state, and city administrations ; on the other, comprising then but 
a small section, composed principally of mechanics and other working- 
men, were those calling themselves free-trade, anti-monopoly, hard-money 
men.* 

The equal-rights party at first deemed it advisable to exercise great 
caution and secrecy in their movements. It_ required both moral and 
physical courage to attack the usages and organization of the democratic 
party, which were then controlled by those favorable to banking institu- 
tions. But at the election in the city of New York, for a member of Con- 
gress and members of the legislature, in the autumn of 1835, it was deter- 
* Byrdsall's History of the Locofoco or Equal-Rights Party. 



448 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

mined to oppose the nomination of certain persons who were brought for- 
ward by the friends of banks. * 

At a meeting on the evening of the 29th of October, 1835, of the demo- 
cratic party, at Tammany Hall (the usual place of such meetings), for the 
purpose of adopting a ticket to be supported at the approaching election, 
opposition was made by the anti-bank portion of the meeting, to certain 
names on the ticket. A struggle took place for the chair, between the 
two sections of the party ; but the friends of banks having placed their 
leader in the chair, and declared their ticket and resolutions adopted, at- 
tempted to adjourn the meeting and put out the lights. Their opponents 
being prepared for the occasion, by means of locofoco matches carried 
with them for the purpose, instantly restored the light in the room, placed 
their leader in the chair, adopted an equal-rights democratic ticket, and 
passed sundry resolutions against banks and paper-money, avowing them- 
selves in favor of gold and silver as the only circulating medium of the 
country. 

Thus was formed a new party, the supporters of which were forthwith 
denominated by their opponents, " locofocos," a name which was gradu- 
ally extended to the entire democratic party of the Union. Although this 
new section of the party was at first inconsiderable in number, giving but 
about four thousand votes at the election in the city of New York in 1835, 
apprehensions were entertained by the leading men of the democratic 
party, that the principles thus avowed might extend in their ranks, and 
cause disunion and defeat to the friends of the administration of Jackson 
and Van Buren. Efforts were therefore made to conciliate the equal- 
rights party, and prevent their separation from the ranks of the democracy. 
Their favorite candidate for president. Colonel Richard M. Johnson, of 
Kentucky, was nominated for vice-president on the ticket with Mr. Van 
Buren, and elected to that office by the friends of the latter. Numerous 
banks were incorporated by the democratic majority in the legislature of 
the state of New York, as well as several other states, in the year 1836, 
after Avhich a pause took place in chartering those institutions ; which 
cessation of bank-making, however, was partly occasioned by the pecuni- 
ary embarrassments which overtook the concerns of the country in 1837. 

The recommendation of a separation of the financial concerns of the 
United States government from the state banks, brought forward by Presi- 
dent Van Buren, in his message at the extra session of Congress in 1837, 
created a division in the ranks of the supporters of his administration, 
which was first exhibited in Congress, but soon extended among the peo- 
ple. Those democrats who were opposed to an exclusive specie currency, 
and the sub-treasury scheme recommended by Mr. Van Buren, and those 
in favor of banks as depositories of the public moneys, became a distinct 
section of the party, and were called " conservatives." Those who ad- 
hered to these views eventually joined the whigs, in opposition to Mr. Van 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 449 

Buren's administration, and in 1840 aided in the election of Harrison and 
Tyler. 

Vlith. regard to the state-rights men, or those originally attached to the 
democratic party, who had disapproved of the removal of the deposites 
fi'om the bank of the United States, and some other acts of General Jack- 
son ; most of them opposed the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and 
eventually amalgamated with the whig party. A considerable portion of 
the state-rights men, however, among whom was Mr. John C. Calhoun, 
and a majority of the people of South Carolina, left the whigs, soon after 
the accession of Mr. Van Buren to the presidency, and became supporters 
of his administration, particularly sustaining his views respecting the 
sub-treasury and other currency measures. Consequently, the vote of 
South Carolina was given to Mr. Van Buren, when he was 'a candidate for 
re-election to the presidency, in 1840. 

The election of 1 840, which elevated General Harrison and Mr. Tyler 
to power, was effected by the joint efforts of the whigs and conservatives, 
the latter, for all practical purposes, becoming merged in the whig party. 
The party which supported the re-election of Mr. Van Buren in 1840, calling 
themselves democrats, while their opponents gave them the name of loco- 
focos, were then united throughout the country in advocating the measures 
of Mr. Van Buren's administration, particularly his recommendation of a 
sub-treasury, or the separation of the national funds from the state banks," 
and the collection of the public revenues in gold and silver. 

Afier his nomination for vice-president, in 1840, and previous to the 
election, Mr. Tyler avowed himself a firm and decided whig, stating that 
on the subjects of Mr. Clay's compromise tariff law then in operation, 
which he considered a protective tariff, and the distribution of the pro- 
ceeds of the sales of the public lands among the states, he concurred with 
Mr. Clay and General Harrison. On the subject of a national bank, he 
said, in a letter replying to one from the democratic citizens of Steuben- 
ville, in October, 1840 : " My opinion of the power of Congress to char- 
ter a bank of the United States remains unchanged. There is not in the 
constitution any express grant of power for such a purpose, and it never 
could be constitutional to exercise that power, save in the event that the 
powers granted to Congress could not be carried out without resorting to 
such an institution." In another letter to several citizens of Henrico 
county, Virginia, dated in October, 1840, he remarked: "My votes are 
repeatedly recorded on the journals of Congress, against the power of 
Congress over the subject of internal improvement, in all its phases and 
aspects, as well in regard to roads and canals, as to harbors and rivers. 
The first, viz., appropriations to roads and canals, have well nigh en- 
tirely ceased, while annual appropriations, to a large amount, have been 
made to harbors and rivers, with the sanction and approval of the presi- 
dent of the United States." 

29 



450 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER, 

The twenty-seventh Congress met in extra session, on the 31st day of 
May, 1841. The session closed on the 13th of September following. 
John White, a whig member from- Kentucky, was elected speaker of the 
house of representatives, having received on the first vote, viva voce, 121 
votes, against 84 for John W. Jones, of Virginia (democrat), and 16 scat- 
tering. In the senate, as already stated, there was also a decided major- 
ity in favor of the administration. 

A committee of the house being proposed to join one from the senate, 
as usual, to wait on the president of the United States, and inform him 
that a quorum of the two houses had assembled, and that Congress was 
ready to proceed to business, &c., Mr. M'Keon, of New York, moved to 
amend the resolution appointing the committee, by striking out the word 
" president," and inserting the words " vice-president, now occupying the 
office of president of the United States." This motion Mr. M'Keon sup- 
ported in a constitutional argument, which was replied to by Mr. Wise, 
of Virginia, and the amendment was rejected, and the original resolution 
adopted, by which the house recognised John Tyler as president of the 
United States. 

The message of the president was generally well received by the friends 
of the new administration. Though cautiously worded on the subject of a 
national bank, and somewhat ambiguous as to his own views with regard 
to such an institution, it was believed that he would sanction any bill that 
might receive the support of a majority of both houses of Congress, for the 
incorporation of a bank or fiscal agent, for the regulation of the currency, 
and for managing the funds of the government. 

At the opening of the session, the president's message was accompanied 
by the report of the secretary of the treasury. This paper earnestly rec- 
ommended the establishment of a bank. It added : " If such an institution 
can be so conceived in principle and guarded in its details as to remove all 
scruples touching the question of constitutional power, and thus avoid the 
objections which have been urged against those heretofore created by 
Congress, it will, in the opinion of the undersigned, produce the happiest 
results, and confer lasting and important benefits on the country." 

The bank was thus brought distinctly to the consideration of Congress, 
both by the president and the secretary. 

The president was desirous that Congress should call on the secretary 
to report a plan for a bank. He expressed this wish to more than one 
member, immediately upon the opening of the session ; in fact, invited the 
call. Mr. Wise, his confidential friend, introduced a resolution to this end 
into the house, on the 3d of June. Mr. Clay did the same thing in the 
senate, on the 7th of June. 

On the 12th of June, the secretary, Mr. Ewing, made his report, and 
■with it a bill for the incorporation of " The Fiscal Bank of the United 
States." 



ADMIXISTRATION OF TYLER. 451 

This bill was represented by the secretary as creating an institvUion, in 
ihe general plan and frame of which he had endeavored to free it from the 
constitutional objections which have been urged against those heretofore 
created by Congress. 

This plan accordingly differed from the former bank of the United 
States in two essential characteristics — both of which, it was understood, 
were introduced upon Mr. Tyler's suggestion, and in deference to his 
peculiar views of the constitution. 

First, it proposed a bank to be incorporated in the District of Columbia. 

Second, it was to have the power to establish branches only with the 
assent of the states. 

Many provisions were made to guard against the abuses which were 
known or alleged to have crept into the former banks.* 

The amount of capital named was thirty millions 'of dollars ; in other 
respects — in privilege of discount and exchange, &c. — the institution pro- 
posed was similar to the two former banks incorporated by Congress. 

This plan of a national bank proposed by the secretary of the treasury, 
received the approbation of every member of the cabinet, as the only plan 
which would be likely to succeed, considering the opinions of the acting 
president. Mr. Webster afterward remarked, that " it was the part of 
wisdom, not to see how much of a case they could make out against the 
president, but how they could get on as well as they might with the pres- 
ident." Mr. Wise, a confidential friend of the president, in a letter writ- 
ten after the extra session, observed, that " the secretary of the treasury, 
Mr. Ewing himself, proposed a plan which he recommended to Congress 
as one which would conduct our finances and commerce, equalize ex- 
changes, regulate currency, and avoid all constitutional difficulties. This 
was the very desideratum, if it was what he described it to be, and this 
was emphatically, by a whig administration recommendation from the 
proper department, said to be acquiesced in by the president, and it was 
called for by both houses of Congress. It was justly regarded as the 
whig measure of the first moment, and would as such have been met and 
treated doubtless by the opposition or Van Buren party." 

Mr. E wing's report and bill were referred in the senate to the select 
committee on the currency, of which Mr. Clay was chairman. That com- 
mittee reported, on the 21st of June, a bill in all essential features the 
same as that proposed by the secretary of the treasury and supposed to have 
been approved by the president, with one exception. That exception re- 
garded the establishment of branches. 

The bank, on this plan, as well as in the other, was to be situated in tba 
District of Columbia (at Washington city) ; it was to have the same capi- 
tal of thirty millions — with a provision for future increase, if Cungress 
should think it advisable, to fifty millions, 

• Kennedy's Defence of the Twenty-seventh r^igress. 



452 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

It provided for a government subscription of ten millions, instead 
of the secretary's six ; and it dispensed with the fourth instalment of the 
surplus revenue, amounting to upward of nine millions, which the secre- 
tary's bill proposed to make part of the capital. It allowed dividends as 
high as seven per cent. ; the other restricted them to six ; it gave nine 
paid directors, and required a majority to transact business : the executive 
scheme proposed seven paid directors, and three a quorum for business. 
It was somewhat more stringent in its regulations than the bill of the 
executive ; among other particulars, in these : — 

It forbade the appointment of any member of Congress, or of a state 
legislature, or officer or contractor of the federal or state governments, as 
a director in the bank or its branches : 

It forbade all discounting within the District of Columbia, or loans, ex- 
cept to the government : 

It gave additional powers to facilitate free examination of the bank by 
the secretary of the treasury : 

It added restrictions to the use, and guards against the abuse, of 
proxies : 

It forbade the officers from borrowing money or obtaining discounts 
from the bank, or contracting debts with it. 

In these and sundjy other particulars, the senate bill was more guarded 
and restrained than the executive bill. 

These diversities between the two schemes mainly respect the efficiency 
of the proposed institution. They did not touch any debatable question 
of constitutional power. 

Such a question of constitutional power, and the only one, was pre- 
sented in the clause relating to the establishment of branches. In all 
other points the bills are the same in principle, and with very little varia- 
tion, coincident in detail — almost identical in phraseology. 

On this point of establishment of branches — the 16th fundamental rule 
in each bill — the senate plan differed from that of the executive, to the 
following extent : — 

The executive bill authorized the corporation to establish a bank for 
discount and deposite, in any state whose legislature should give its as- 
sent to such an act ; such branch being once established, not to be with- 
drawn without the assent of Congress : or, instead of establishing such 
office, the directors were authorized, from time to time, to employ any 
individual agent, or bank — with the approbation of the secretary of the 
treasury — at any place, to transact the business of the bank, other than for 
the purposes of discount. 

The senate bill, first made it obligatory upon the corporation to estab- 
lish an office of discount and deposite, in any state in which two thou- 
sand shares sV.ould have been subscribed, whenever, upon the application 
of the legislature ol such state, Congress should require the same; sec- 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 453 

end, the directors were authorized to establish such offices in any state or 
territory, whenevejr they should think it expedient, wit/liout the assent of 
the legislature ; third, or instead of establishing such offices, to employ an 
agent or bank, to be approved by the secretary of the treasury — at any 
place — to transact the business of the bank, other than for the purposes 
of discount. This latter clause being to the same effect as that in the 
executive bill. 

The above is a view of the two provisions. It will be seen how very 
narrow was the difference between Mr. Tyler's proposition and Mr. 
Clay's ; a difference, so far as constitutional power was concerned, that 
rested upon the naked alternative of — 

Branches to be established originally with the assent of the states, and 
that assent, once given, to be irrevocable ; or branches to be established 
when and where found convenient, without that original assent. 

The president maintained in vindication of the principle inserted in his 
bill, that although he could find power in the constitution to establish a 
bank, he could find none to establish a branch ; that to get this absent 
power, it was necessary that Congress should apply to each state for a 
grant of it. 

Mr. Clay, on the other hand, held that if the constitution did not give 
the power to establish a branch, no assent of a state could give it, and, 
therefore, that it was unconstitutional to attempt to derive power from the 
assent of a state. 

Upon this logic, a division of opinion arose in Congress ; not as to 
which of those positions was the sound one. It was believed there was 
not a man in either house who honestly and sincerely held with the pres- 
ident. But the question which now divided Congress was — Can r\ot the 
president be gratified as to this notion of his regarding the assent of the 
states 1 Can not Congress, if it finds motive to do so, as a matter of ex- 
pediency merely, waive and forego its right to establish a branch, and 
ordain tliat that right shall not be exercised except in such case as when 
a state may express a wish for a branch ? 

Upon this point, there was a very general, perhaps unanimous, concur- 
rence of the whig party in the affirmative. Is it expedient to establish 
such a precedent ? May it not be used, hereafter, to the prejudice of 
good legislation ? On this point there was less unanimity. Some mem- 
bers were strongly opposed. Then it was suggested that the power 
might be waived, with a protestation. Many other suggestions were 
made, evincing great solicitude to comply with the president's wish, if 
possible. 

The difficulty was, at last, thought to be settled by a compromise ; to 
which, it was reported, the president had agreed. There was great re- 
pugnance to it among the whig members, but it was finally agreed to, be- 
cause the majority thought the president wished it. 



454 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER, 

The compromise was this : The directors to have power to establish a 
branch with the assent of the state, and when established, not to be with- 
drawn without the consent of Congress : provided, first, that the power to 
establish a branch shall be unrestrained, in respect to any state which 
shall not, at the first session of its legislature, after the passage of the 
charter, express its dissent ; in defect of which, assent shall be presumed. 
And provided, second, that whenever Congress shall deem it necessary 
and proper to the execution of powers granted by the constitution, to es- 
tablish a branch in any state, then Congress may require the directors to 
establish such branch. 

The compromise being thus arranged in conformity, as it was sup- 
posed, with the president's views, it was incorporated in the bill, and the 
whigs then hastened to pass it. There is, however, no reason to suppose 
that the president ever gave any distinct promise to accept the compro- 
mise, although such a belief was prevalent.* 

The bill incorporating the fiscal bank was finally passed by Congress 
on the 6th of August, and sent to the president for his decision. The 
vote in the senate, where the bill originated, was 26 ayes to 23 noes ; in 
the house of representatives, 128 ayes to 97 noes. The president retained 
the bill until the 16th of August, and during this interval the greatest anxi- 
ety prevailed among the whigs, with regard to the course he might con- 
clude to pursue. The president's house was filled with visiters from the 
ranks of the opposition, some of whom became his intimate advisers. 
When the whigs learned that he complained that they kept aloof from 
him, and thinking it their duty to do everything in their power to avert the 
threatened veto, they waited upon him in delegations, to apprize him of the 
feeling which was likely to arise in the country upon this act. One dele- 
gation in particular, of great respectability — the whigs representing Ohio 
— called upon him on Friday evening, the 13th of August. They told 
him frankly what they feared ; assured him of the earnest desire of the 
party to preserve harmony and good will toward the president : repre- 
sented to him the deep concern of the nation in the bank question. He 
protested his own intense feeling upon the subject ; spoke apparently with 
frankness of the difficulties he felt in regard to certain points in the com- 
promise section ; suggested an amendment which would render this sec- 
tion acceptable to him ; declared his entire freedom from all prejudice or 
extrinsic influence in regard to the measure ; wept ; promised to pray for 
guidance ; and then asked, by way of remonstrance : " Why did you not 
send me Ewing's bill ?" 

" Would you sign that bill ?" inquired one of the delegation. 

" I would," was the reply. 

Such was the interview, as described by those who witnessed it. The 
Ohio members left his apartment fully possessed with the opinion that the 

• Kennedy. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 455 

president was sincerely desirous to have a bank such as his cabinet min- 
ister had reported. Although they had reason to expect a veto of the pend- 
ing bill, they believed that all difficulty would be removed by adopting the 
president's plan as it came from the secretary. This opinion they infused 
into the whigs of Congress ; and the hopes of a favorable settlement of 
the question began to brighten among them. Subsequently the president 
informed one of the Ohio delegation that he wished to recall what he had 
said respecting Mr. E wing's bill, which he declared that he had not read 
when he said that he would sign it if it were sent to him. He now said 
that fee could not sign that, but added, " If you will examine the message 
'[veto] I have sent to-day, you will find shadowed forth a much better bank 
there, one that has been long endeared to me."* 

During the time while the president held the bank bill under considera- 
tion, among other friends who urged him to allow the bill to become 
a law, Mr. Botts, of Virginia, wrote him a confidential and respectful 
letter on the 10th of August, from which we make the following ex- 
tracts : — 

" It is generally understood that you are to veto the bank bill. If it be 
so. have you contemplated the consequence, in all its bearings ? Can 
your cabinet sustain you in the veto. Will they not be compelled to re-- 
sign ? For whatever may be your views as to the principles upon which 
you came into power, it can not be denied t^at those on which they have 
been sustained by the country require at their hands an earnest support 
of the measure that has been demanded by the people through their rep- 
resentatives, by a majority exceeding the entire representation of Virginia 
and South Carolina, the two states in which the strongest opposition is 
supposed to exist. 

" The sub-treasury is repealed ; and the deposite system of 1836 is also 
repealed in one house, and will pass the other. Congress will not con- 
sent to take the plan suggested by the secretary of the treasury. Will 
you not find it impossible to carry on the government, and will not a resig- 
nation be forced upon you ? 

" On the contrary, if you can reconcile this bill to yourself, all is sun- 
shine and calm. Your administration will meet with the warm, hearty, 
zealous support of the whole whig party, and you will retire from the great 
theatre of national politics with the thanks, and plaudits, and approbation 
of your countrymen." 

Three days after his interview with the Ohio delegation, President Ty- 
ler sent the bank bill back to the senate, in which it originated, with his 
veto message. 

So far as this act signified his dissent from the senate bill, it surprised 
nobody. The recent reports, especially tliat from the Ohio delegation, 
bad prepared Congress to expect it. But the substance of the message, 

• Kennedy. 



456 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

and the grounds upon which it placed the veto, greatly surprised that body 
— excepting only those who were in the secret. 

The message presents four objections to the bill : — 

First, that it is an attempt to create a bank to operate per se over the 
Union — and therefore unconstitutional. 

Second, that it is a bank of discount — and therefore unconstitutional. 

Third, that it was not a bank exclusively confined to the power of deal- 
ing in exchanges, which ¥/ould be constitutional and eminently useful, if 
conducted on the plan of tlie exchange operations of the old bank. 

Fourth, that the assent of the states toward establishing branches was 
not sufficiently secured. 

The first three of these objections apply as forcibly to Mr. Swing's 
bill as to that from the senate. 

The bank proposed by the secretary was more distinctly a bank of local 
discount than the senate bank ; for the latter absolutely forbade discount- 
ing in the District of Columbia, which the other allowed. The discount 
power was as large in the secretary's plan as in the old bank. Then as 
to dealing in exchange, Mr. Ewing's plan encouraged it no more than the 
other, but left this faculty much where it was in the former charter. The 
•fourth objection is peculiar to the senate's bill ; yet here the difference 
hangs by a cobweb.* 

Yet, according to the evidence of Mr. Wise, and other friends of the 
executive, Mr. Ewing's bill had been adopted by the president and his 
cabinet as a compromise of the vexed question. 

The veto message completely bewildered the whig members of Con- 
gress, and was received with dismay and anxiety by the friends of the ad- 
ministration throughout the country. Immediate efforts were made by the 
leading whigs in Congress, and the members of the cabinet, to repair, if 
possible, the evil effects which threatened the party with distraction and 
dissolution. 

A hope yet remained. The president had shadowed out a plan in his 
veto message, which, as he remarked to a member from Ohio, was a plan 
long endeared to him. The message was examined, and it occurred at 
once to every one, upon reading his commendation of the exchange opera- 
tions of the old bank, that the plan shadowed forth in that document was 
a bank to be constructed with reference to such dealings in exchanges as 
were described to be so beneficial to the country in the old bank, and 
■which should be disabled from dealing in local discounts. 

To make sure of the president's concurrence in this matter, two gen- 
tlemen of the highest standing in Congress — Mr. Berrien, of the senate, 
and Mr. Sergeant, of the house — were deputed by the whigs to ascertain 
from him precisely what kind of a bill he would feel himself authorized 
to approve. 

* Kennedy 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 457 

They executed their commission with great fidelity ; had an interview 
with the president ; learned from him that he was in favor of a fiscal agent 
divested of the discounting power, and limited to dealing in bills of ex- 
change, other than those drawn by a citizen of one state upon another 
citizen of the same state. A bill was prepared in conformity with these 
suggestions. It was submitted to Mr, Webster, and by him to the presi- 
dent ; was approved, and sent to the house of representatives ; reported 
there, and passed. 

The interview of Messrs. Berrien and Sergeant with the president was 
on the 18th of August. The bill was prepared on the 19th, and submitted 
to the president, and approved by him. It was then returned to Mr. Ser- 
geant, who, on Friday, the 20th, introduced it into the house as an amend- 
ment to a bill then pending in committee of the whole.* It was entitled, 
" An act to provide for the better collection, safekeeping, and disburse- 
ment of the public revenue, by means of a corporation to be styled the 
fiscal corporation of the United States." The name of bank was omitted 
in conformity with the wishes of the president.! 

On Monday, the 23d of August, at 4 o'clock, the bill was taken out of 
committee, and passed, without the alteration of a word from the original 
report, by a vote of 125 to 94. It was passed in the senate, 27 to 22, 
without amendment, on Friday, the 3d of September. 

In the meantime, several important measures proposed by the whigs in 
Congress, had been adopted in both branches, and received the approba- 
tion of the president. On the 17th of August, the day after his veto of 
the fiscal bank bill, the president informed Congress that he had signed 
the bill repealing the sub-treasury law; and on the 18th a bill, which 
had previously passed the senate, 26 to 23, to establish a uniform system 
of bankruptcy throughout the United States, was passed in the house of 
representatives, by a vote of 1 10 to 106 ; the votes of the democratic party 
in both houses, with very few exceptions, being in the negative. This 
bill, which was considered a prominent whig measure, was called for by 
an immense number of petitioners throughout the United States, em- 
bracing many of the largest capitalists and of the most intelligent among 
the commercial community, as well as those who were classed among the 
unfortunate, in consequence of the vicissitudes of trade. The want of a 
uniform bankrupt law had been seriously felt for nearly forty years, during 
which the country had been without a system ; particularly by that portion 
of citizens who were engaged in mercantile pursuits, whether creditors or 
debtors. 

While the bill to establish the fiscal corporation was pending in the 
house of representatives, an event occurred, which probably had an impor- 
tant influence on the mind of the president in determining his subsequent 

* Kennedy's Defence of the Twenty-seventh Congress. 
t Mr. Ewing's Letter, in Niles's Register, vol. Ixi., p. 34. 



458 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

action on that measure, and produced the most disastrous effects on the pros- 
pects of the whig party and the administration of Mr. Tyler. On the 2l3t 
of August, the following copy of a letter from Hon. John M. Botts, a dis- 
tinguished whig member of Congress, representing the Richmond district 
of Virginia, in the house of representatives, appeared in the Madisonian, 
the official executive paper at Washington. It was accompanied with a 
notice by the editor, stating that it was forwarded to him late the previous 
evening, as having been written by the author, for the Coffeehouse, at 
Richmond, where such scraps of news are made as public as at an ex- 
change of a commercial city. " Under any other circumstances," the 
editor remarked, " we should not have felt authorized to publish it. Fore- 
warned, Mr. Tyler will be forearmed. We shall see whether Mr. Botts, 
and such as he, will succeed in ' heading' him — whether they will perpe- 
trate a legislative fraud, such as the letter describes, for the heartless pur- 
pose of ' fastening' Mr. Tyler, and forcing him into a measure which 
neither his conscience sanctions, nor his judgment approves." 

"August 16, 1841. 

" Dear Sir : The president has finally resolved to veto the bank bill. 
It will be sent in to-day at 12 o'clock. It is impossible to tell precisely 
on what ground it will be placed. He has turned, and twisted, and 
changed his ground so often in his conversations, that it is difficult to con- 
jecture which of the absurdities he will rest his veto upon. 

" In the last conversation reported, he said his only objection was to 
that provision which presumed the assent of the states when no opinion 
was expressed, and if that was struck out, he would sign the bill. He 
had no objection to the location of branches by the directors, in the ab- 
sence of dissent expressed, but whenever it was expressed, the power to 
discount promissory notes must cease, although the agency might con- 
tinue, for the purchase and sale of foreign exchange. However, you will 
see the message. 

" Our Captain Tyler is making a desperate efTort to set himself up with 
the locofocos, but he'll be headed yet, and I regret to say, it will end 
badly for him. He will be an object of execration with both parties ; 
with the one, for vetoing our bill, which was bad enough — with the other, 
for signing a worse one ; but he is hardly entitled to sympathy. He has 
refused to listen to the admonition and entreaties of his best friends, and 
looked only to the whisperings of ambitious and designing mischief-makers 
who have collected around him. 

The veto will be received without a word, laid on the table, and ordered 
to be printed. To-night we must and will settle matters, as quietly as 
possible, but they must be settled. 

" Yours, &c., " Jno. M. Botts. 

" You'll get a bank bill, I think, but one that will serve only to fasten 
him, and to which no stock will be subscribed ; and when he finds ou» 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 459 

that he is not wiser in banking than all the rest of the world, we may get 
a better. The excitement here is tremendous, but it will be smothered 
for the present." 

The above letter was postmarked " Washington, 16th August," and ad- 
dressed to " Coffeehouse, Richmond. (Free.) Jno. M. Botts." 

In explanation of this letter, Mr. Botts published an address to the pub- 
lic, in which he states that the former was written under strong feelings 
of indignation at the president's course, and was intended as a private let- 
ter to Mr. Lynch, proprietor of the Coffeehouse, Richmond (a reading 
and news-room) ; that it was inadvertently directed to the Coffeehouse, 
instead of Mr. James H. Lynch. This private letter was published with- 
out the authority either of the writer or of the individual to whom it was 
written. Mr. Botts denied the correctness of the inference and construc- 
tion put upon certain expressions in this letter by the president and his 
friends. 

The secretary of the treasury, Mr. Ewing, in his letter of resignation 
to the president, remarks : " No doubt was thrown out on the subject [of 
the fiscal corporation bill] by you, in my hearing, or within my knowledge, 
until the letter of Mr. Botts came to your hands. Soon after the reading 
of that letter, you threw out strong intimations that you would veto the bill 
if it were not postpone^. That letter I did and do most unequivocally 
condemn, but it did not affect the constitutionality of the bill, or justify 
you in rejecting it on that ground ; it could affect only the expediency of 
your action, and whatever you may now believe as to the scruples existing 
in your mind ; in this and in a kindred source there is strong ground to 
believe they have their origin."* 

Mr. Webster, in a letter to the two senators from Massachusetts, dated 
on the 25th of August, remarks : " I know that the president had been 
greatly troubled, in regard to the former bill, being desirous, on one hand, 
to meet the wishes of his friends, if he could, and on the other, to do jus- 
tice to his own opinions. 

" Having returned this first bill, with objections, a new one was pre- 
sented to the house, and appeared to be making rapid progress. 

" I know the president regretted this, and wished the whole subject 
might have been postponed. At the same time I believed he was dis- 
posed to consider calmly and conscientiously, whatever other measure 
might be presented to him. I have not the slightest doubt that the pres- 
ent bill was honestly and fairly intended as a measure likely to meet 
the president's approbation. I do not believe that one in fifty of the 
whigs had any sinister design whatever, if there was an individual who 
had such design. 

" But in the meantime Mr. Botts's very extraordinary letter made its ap- 
pearance. Mr. Botts is a whig of eminence and influence in our ranks. 
• Niles's Register, vol. Lsi., p. 34. 



4G0 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

I need not recall to your mind the contents of that letter. Tt is enough to 
say that it purported that the whigs designed to circumvent their own 
president, to ' head him,' as the expression was, and to place him in a 
condition of embarrassment. 

" From that moment, I felt that it was the duty of the whigs to forbear 
from pressing the bank bill further at the present time. 

"I thought it was but just in them to give decisive proof that they en- 
tertained no such purpose as seemed to be imputed to them. And since 
there was reason to believe that the president would be glad of time, for 
information and reflection, before being called on to form an opinion on 
another plan for a bank — a plan somewhat new to the country — I thought 
his known wishes ought to be complied with. I thirdc so still. I think 
this is a course just to the president, and wise on behalf of the whig party. 

" A decisive rebuke ought, in my judgment, to be given to the intimation, 
from whatever quarter, of a disposition among the whigs to embarrass the 
president. This is the main ground of my opinion ; and such a rebuke, I 
think, would be found in the general resolution of the party to postpone 
further proceedings on the subject to the next session, now only a little 
more than three months off. 

" The session has been fruitful of important acts. The wants of the 
treasury have been supplied ; provisions have been made for fortifications, 
and for the navy ; the repeal of the sub-treasury has passed ; the bank- 
rupt bill, that great measure of justice and benevolence, has been carried 
through ; and the land bill seems about to receive the sanction of Con- 
gress. 

" In all these measures, forming a mass of legislation more important, I 
will venture to say, than all the proceedings of Congress for many years 
past, the president has cordially concurred. 

" I agree, that the currency question is, nevertheless, the great question 
before the country ; but considering what has already been accomplished, 
in regard to other things ; considering the difference of opinion which, 
exists upon this remaining one ; and considering, especially, that it is the 
duty of the whigs effectually to repel and put down any supposition that 
they are endeavoring to put the president in a condition in which he must 
act under restraint or embarrassment, I am fully and entirely persuaded 
that the bank subject should be postponed to the next session. 

" I am, gentlemen, your friend and obedient servant, 

" Daniel Webster."* 

On the 9th of September, six days after its passage in Congress, the 
president returned the fiscal corporation bill to the house of representa- 
tives, where it originated, with his objections. The following day it was 
taken up in the house, and after debate, 103 members voted in the affirma- 
tiye, and 80 in the negative ; consequently the bill was lost, two thirds not 

* Niles's Register, vol. Ixi., p. 55. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 461 

voting for it. The fiscal bank bill which was returned to the senate on 
the 16th of August, it having originated in that body, was lost also, for 
want of a two-third vote. On that bill, when returned, the vote of the 
senate was 25 ayes, to 25 noes. 

The Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, one of the senators from the state of New 
York, endeavored, on each occasion, to induce the president to withhold 
his veto on the bank question. Being on the most intimate and confidential 
terms with President Tyler, he, on the 9th of September, addressed him a 
respectful letter, in which he urged, with great ability, the importance to 
himself, the party, and the country, of his approval of the fiscal corporation 
bill. He warned him of the fatal consequences which would result from 
a second veto. He remarked : " The public mind is too much excited to 
receive another veto, without the most unequivocal manifestations of dis- 
approbation, not to say indignation. Such feelings existed, but were sup- 
pressed, on the former occasion, because it was seen that Congress was 
making a great and mighty effort to recover from the blow which that 
message inflicted — a blow the more severe and the less to be resisted, 
because inflicted by a friend — by him too who had come into power with 
the rich legacy of the lamented Harrison — namely, ' to understand and 
carry out the true principles of the government,' of which this measure 
was the leading one. These feelings can not longer be suppressed, after 
another exercise of the veto power on the present bill. That hill, it is 
well understood, was prepared in pursuance of your suggestions, after full 
consultation with your cabinet, and with other gentleinen ; and its provis- 
io?is made to conform to your views, and with the unequivocal understand- 
ing that it would meet your approbation. 

" It was brought forward, and passed by your friends in Congress, for 
the purpose of obviating all difficulties on your part, believing, as they did, 
from most undoubted sources, that its provisions had received your sanc- 
tion. I can not therefore, for one moment, persuade myself that any 
credit ought to be given to a rumor of a second veto. 

" I will hope that you will seize this occasion to sustain the confidence 
of the party which placed you where you are ; and that you will, by the 
approval of this bill, render your administration as popular as you will 
make the country prosperous, and the people happy. 

" Let no hasty opinions which you have expressed against the bill, pre- 
vent you from consummating an act so honorable to yourself, so desirable 
to your party, so important to the country. It is the part of a great man 
to surmount the obstacles which obstruct the way of smaller men. Wash- 
ington had his veto of the first bank bill all prepared, with the intention 
of sending it to Congress ; but that great man changed his purpose at the 
very last moment, and approved the bill. Is not his example worthy of 
imitation ? Can you not, ought you not, to exhibit, on this occasion, those 
high qualities for which he was so distinguished, and which in him com- 



462 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

manded the admiration of the whole country 1 How enviable would be 
your position ! How laudable the ambition to imitate such an example \ 
By your approval of this bill, the most intimate and cordial relations would 
be preserved between yourself and your political friends — the confidence 
of the party would be sustained, and we should all have the proud satis- 
faction of interchanging those reciprocal acts of kindness and good feel- 
ing which are the life and soul of all honorable, political associations. 
May I not hope, then, that this great and patriotic purpose may influence 
your decision, and that we may all return to our constituents, having by 
our united action accomplished the great objects for which we were called 
together, and receive their annunciation of ' Well done, good and faithful 
servants.'" 

The president's vetoes of the two bank bills were of course received 
with far different feelings by the two political parties into which the 
country was divided. While the whigs viewed the president's course 
with indignation, and denounced him as unfaithful to the party which had 
elevated him to his high station, their democratic opponents in Congress 
and throughout the country, warmly applauded Mr. Tyler for defeating the 
plans for a national bank, and numerous meetings of the democracy were 
held, in which the president was highly commended for his independent 
course. Care, however, was taken, by the democratic leaders, to prevent 
any encouragement being held out to Mr. Tyler that he would be ac- 
knowledged as the head of the party, or "a candidate for re-election. Mr. 
Van Buren, in a letter to his political friends in New York, on the 5th of 
September, remarked, that " if Mr. Tyler should complete the work so 
wisely begun, by disapproving the bill for the creation of a fiscal corpora- 
tion, he will be entitled to the thanks of the country." The peculiar tone 
of this letter occasioned a general smile, wherever read. 

With regard to public opinion, it was denied by the opposition in Con- 
gress that the people had decided in favor of a national bank, by the pres- 
idential election of 1840. To this the whigs replied, that the newspaper 
organs of the late administration displayed at their head, during the con- 
test, the words, " An independent treasury, and no national bank," and the 
issue thus made was determined against them. That in the election of 
members of the house of representatives, a majority of about forty of the 
whole body was elected, composed of known friends of a national bank, and 
thus the people had decided in favor of such an institution. Mr. Clay, in 
his speech in the senate on President Tyler's first veto message, said : 
" It is incontestable that it was the great, absorbing, and controlling ques- 
tion, in all our recent divisions and exertions. I am firmly convinced, 
and it is my deliberate judgment, that an immense majority, not less than 
two thirds of the nation, desire such an institution. All doubts in this re- 
spect ought to be dispelled, by the recent decisions of the two houses of 
Congress. I speak of them as evidence of popular opinion. In the house 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 463 

of representatives the majority was one hundred and thirty-one to one hun- 
dred. If the house had been full, and but for the modification of the six- 
teenth fundamental condition, there would have been a probable majority 
of forty-seven. Is it to be believed that this large majority of the imme- 
diate representatives of the people, fresh from among them, and to v/hora 
the president seemed inclined, in his opening message, to refer this very 
question, have mistaken the wishes of their constituents ?" 

In the debate on the second veto, in the house of representatives, Mr. 
Botts said : " It is certain, that when we came here no doubt was enter- 
tained by either party that he [the president] would sign a bank bill : our 
friends thought so, or it would not have been discussed, as it was, for ten 
or twelve weeks ; the other party thought so, or they would not have got- 
ten up the cry of repeal ! repeal ! which resounded, not only through the 
walls of this capitol, but became the watchword of the parly throughout 
the country. But we are now told that we must wait, give time ; and it 
has been intimated by the president that the people are not in favor of a 
bank ! Indeed, sir, the people not in favor of a bank ! Why, what evi- 
dence is required stronger than that presented 1 You have a majority of 
thirty-one voting for this bank, with seven absentees who voted for the 
first bank, which gives you thirty-eight. Several others, who voted against 
it, acknowledge their constituents to be in favor of some bank, though they 
were not satisfied with this, which gives you forty, or upward. Which 
of those voting for a bank does the president charge with misrepresenting 
his constituents 1 None, that we have heard of. Then suppose each 
member to represent his constituents fairly, and each one to represent 
sixty thousand persons, which is a reasonable average, and a majority of 
forty on this floor gives you a majority of two million four hundred thou- 
sand of the population of the United States in favor of a bank. ; and yet 
we are to be told it is a doubtful question, upon which the people have 
expressed no opinion !" 

The two principal motives attributed to Mr. Tyler as the cause of his 
vetoes of the bank bills, were, first, his constitutional scruples, with a de- 
termination to preserve his character for consistency ; and second, having 
set his heart upon a second term for the presidency, he was charged with 
endeavoring to ingratiate himself with the democratic party by his bank 
vetoes, and thus become the candidate of that party for re-election, in 
1844. It is evident that his position as a whig president could not be 
sustained without an abandonment of the peculiar notions and principles 
he had formerly professed, as a believer in the Virginia doctrines of a 
strict construction of the constitution. He had argued and voted in Con- 
gress against a protective tariff, against the constitutionality of a national 
bank, and against the constitutionality of internal improvements by the 
general government ; all leading measures proposed and advocated by the 



464 ADMINISTRATION OF TVLER. 

whig party, in reference to which a near approach to unanimity prevailed 
among the whigs throughout the nation, in 1840. 

That the opposition party considered Mr. Tyler as occupying a mista- 
ken position, while attempting to act with the whig party, is shown by the 
debates in Congress, and the language of the opposition press. In the de- 
bate on the fiscal corporation bill, in the senate, Mr. Buchanan said : 
" The president had shown himself a man of mettle, and had not been 
willing to sacrifice all his old Virginia principles, for the sake of a party 
from which he differed on almost every great and leading point of policy." 
The Richmond Enquirer, previous to the first bank veto, said : " Mr. Ty- 
ler's j;n/?c/y:)Ze.y, duties, policy, interests, are all with us [the democrats], if 
he can only see them. But will he see them ? We hope and trust he 
will not throw himself into the arms of the federal whigs." 

The general impression of the whigs appears to have been, that Mr. 
Tyler, in accepting the nomination of the party for vice-president, gave an 
implied pledge that he would act with the party in carrying out their 
views and measures. The author of the work before quoted, " Defence 
of the Whigs, by a Member of the Twenty-seventh Congress," says : 
"The mass of the whigs, for the most part, knew very little of Mr. Tyler 
and his opinions ; that they cared less — never contemplating the event of 
his succession : that as he professed to be the friend of their friend, Mr. 
Clay — was anxious for his nomination — they had no doubt that he was a 
whig, and would do the duty of a whig, whatever might betide : that as 
he had been on the whig ticket for the vice-presidency once before, and 
came to Harrisburg as a member of the whig convention, he thereby pro- 
claimed himself to be a whig, and could, without dishonor, be nothing else ; 
especially that he could not be a secret enemy to the whigs, and harbor 
an undivilged purpose in his mind to betray them, if ever they should 
trust him." 

" The only point upon which any anxiety for Mr. Tyler's whig princi- 
ples was supposed to have a foundation, was upon the question of the 
bank. In the senate of the United States he had made a mitigated oppo- 
sition to the bank ; an opposition consisting of one part scruple and three 
parts praise. He had spoken there in terms of warm commendation of 
the bank, and especially of the beneficence of its exchanges. Then again 
he said : ' If the constitution authorized its creation, no man, with the ex- 
perience of the past, could well doubt the propriety of a well-regulated 
and well-guarded bank.' His inaugural address is very significant in ref- 
erence to the prevailing doubts : ' The public interest demands that if any 
war has existed between the government and the currency it shall cease. 
I shall promptly give my sanction to any constitutional measure Avhich, 
originating in Congress, shall have for its object the restoration of a sound 
circulating medium,' &c. 

*• He had said in private, to several friends, that his opinion on the con- 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 449 

Buren's administration, and in 1840 aided in the election of Harrison and 
Tyler. 

With regard to the state-rights men, or those originally attached to the 
democratic party, who had disapproved of the removal of the deposites 
from the bank of the United States, and some other acts of General Jack- 
son ; most of them opposed the administration of Mr. Van Buren, and 
eventually amalgamated with the whig party. A considerable portion of 
the state-rights men, however, among whom was Mr. John C. Calhoun, 
and a majority of the people of South Carolina, left the whigs, soon after 
the accession of Mr. Van Buren to the presidency, and became supporters 
of his administration, particularly sustaining his views respecting the 
sub-treasury and other currency measures. Consequently, the vote of 
South Carolina was given to Mr. Van Buren, when he was h candidate for 
re-election to the presidency, in 1840. 

The election of 1840, which elevated General Harrison and Mr. Tyler 
to power, was effected by the joint efforts of the whigs and conservatives, 
the latter, for all practical purposes, becoming merged in the whig party. 
The party which supported the re-election of Mr. Van Buren in 1 840, calling 
themselves democrats, while their opponents gave them the name of loco- 
focos, were then united throughout the country in advocating the measures 
of Mr. Van Buren's administration, particularly his recommendation of a 
sub-treasury, or the separation of the national funds from the state banks, 
and the collection of the public revenues in gold and silver. 

After his nomination for vice-president, in 1840, and previous to the 
election, Mr. Tyler avowed himself a firm and. decided whig, stating that 
on the subjects of Mr. Clay's compromise tariff law then in operation, 
which he considered a protective tariff, and the distribution of the pro- 
ceeds of the sales of the public lands among the states, he concurred with 
Mr. Clay and General Harrison. On the subject of a national bank, he 
said, in a letter replying to one from the democratic citizens of Steuben- 
ville, in October, 1840 : " My opinion of the power of Congress to char- 
ter a bank of the United States remains unchanged. There is not in the 
constitution any express grant of power for such a purpose, and it never 
could be constitutional to exercise that power, save in the event that the 
powers granted to Congress could not be carried out without resorting to 
such an institution." In another letter to several citizens of Henrico 
county, Virginia, dated in October, 1840, he remarked: "My votes are 
repeatedly recorded on the journals of Congress, against the power of 
Congress over the subject of internal improvement, in all its phases and 
aspects, as well in regard to roads and canals, as to harbors and rivers. 
The first, viz., appropriations to roads and canals, have well nigh en- 
tirely ceased, while annual appropriations, to a large amount, have been 
made to harbors and rivers, with the sanction and approval of the presi- 
dent of the United States." 

29 



450 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

The twenty-seventh Congress met in extra session, on the 31st day of 
May, 1841. The session closed on the 13th of September following. 
John White, a whig member from Kentucky, was elected speaker of the 
house of representatives, having received on the first vote, viva voce, 121 
votes, against 84 for John W. Jones, of Virginia (democrat), and 16 scat- 
tering. In the senate, as already stated, there was also a decided major- 
ity in favor of the administration. 

A committee of the house being proposed to join one from the senate, 
as usual, to wait on the president of the United States, and inform him 
that a quorum of the two houses had assembled, and that Congress was 
ready to proceed to business, Sic, Mr. M'Keon, of New York, moved to 
amend the resolution appointing the committee, by striking out the word 
" president," and inserting the words " vice-president, now occupying the 
office of president of the United States." This motion Mr. M'Keon sup- 
ported in a constitutional argument, which was replied to by Mr. Wise, 
of Virginia, and, the amendment was rejected, and the original resolution 
adopted, by which the house recognised John Tyler as president of the 
United States. 

The message of the president was generally well received by the friends 
of the new administration. Though cautiously worded on the subject of a 
national bank, and somewhat ambiguous as to his own views with regard 
to such an institution, it was believed that he would sanction any bill that 
might receive the support of a majority of both houses of Congress, for the 
incorporation of a bank or fiscal agent, for the regulation of the currency, 
and for managing the funds of the government. 

At the opening of the session, the president's message was accompanied 
by the report of the secretary of the treasury. This paper earnestly rec- 
ommended the establishment of a bank. It added : " If such an institution 
can be so conceived in principle and guarded in its details as to remove all 
scruples touching the question of constitutional power, and thus avoid the 
objections which have been urged against those heretofore created by 
Congress, it will, in the opinion of the undersigned, produce the happiest 
results, and confer lasting and important benefits on the country." 

The bank was thus brought distinctly to the consideration of Congress, 
both by the president and the secretary. 

The president was desirous that Congress should call on the secretary 
to report a plan for a bank. He expressed this wish to more than one 
member, immediately upon the opening of the session ; in fact, invited the 
call. Mr. Wise, his confidential friend, introduced a resolution to this end 
into the house, on the 3d of June. Mr. Clay did the same thing in the 
senate, on the 7th of June. 

On the r2th of June, the secretary, Mr. Ewing, made his report, and 
with it a bill for the incorporation of " The Fiscal Bank of the United 
States." 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 451 

This bill was represented by the secretary as creating an institution, in 
the general plan and frame of which he had endeavored to free it from the 
constitutional objections which have been urged against those heretofore 
created by Congress. 

This plan accordingly differed from the former bank of the United 
States in two essential characteristics — both of which, it was understood, 
were introduced upon Mr. Tyler's suggestion, and in deference to his 
peculiar views of the constitution. 

First, it proposed a bank to be incorporated in the District of Columbia. 

Second, it was to have the power to establish branches only with the 
assent of the states. 

Many provisions were made to guard against the abuses which were 
known or alleged to have crept into the former banks.* 

The amount of capital named was thirty millions of dollars ; in other 
respects — in privilege of discount and exchange, &c. — the institution pro- 
posed was similar to the two former banks incorporated by Congress. 

This plan of a national bank proposed by the secretary of the treasury, 
received the approbation of every member of the cabinet, as the only plan 
which would be likely to succeed, considering the opinions of the acting 
president. Mr. Webster afterward remarked, that " it was the part of 
wisdom, not to see how much of a case they could make out against the 
president, but how they could get on as well as they might with the pres- 
ident." Mr. Wise, a confidential friend of the president, in a letter writ- 
ten after the extra session, observed, that " the secretary of the treasury, 
Mr. Ewing himself, proposed a plan which he recommended to Congress 
as one which would conduct our finances and commerce, equalize ex- 
changes, regulate currency, and avoid all constitutional difficulties. This 
was the very desideratum, if it was what he described it to be, and this 
was emphatically, by a whig administration recommendation from the 
proper department, said to be acquiesced in by the president, and it was 
called for by both houses of Congress. It was justly regarded as the 
whig measure of the first moment, and would as such have been met and 
treated doubtless by the opposition or Van Buren party." 

Mr. E wing's report and bill were referred in the senate to the select 
committee on the currency, of which Mr. Clay was chairman. That com- 
mittee reported, on the 21st of June, a bill in all essential features the 
same as that proposed by the secretary of the treasury and supposed to have 
been approved by the president, with one exception. That exception re- 
garded the establishment of branches. 

The bank, on this plan, as well as in the other, was to be situated in the 
District of Columbia (at Washington city) ; it was to have the same capi- 
tal of thirty millions — with a provision for future increase, if Ccnigxesa 
should think it advisable, to fifty millions. 

• Kennedy's Defence of the Twenty-seventh ^jngress. 



452 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

It provided for a government subscription of ten millions, instead 
of the secretary's six ; and it dispensed with the fourth instalment of the 
surplus revenue, amounting to upward of nine millions, which the secre- 
tary's bill proposed to make part of the capital. It allowed dividends as 
high as seven per cent. ; the other restricted them to six ; it gave nine 
paid directors, and required a majority to transact business : the executive 
scheme proposed seven paid directors, and three a quorum for business. 
It was somewhat more stringent in its regulations than the bill of the 
executive ; among other particulars, in these ; — 

It forbade the appointment of any member of Congress, or of a state 
legislature, or officer or contractor of the federal or state governments, as 
a director in the bank or its branches : 

It forbade all discounting within the District of Columbia, or loans, ex- 
cept to the government : 

It gave additional powers to facilitate free examination of the bank by 
the secretary of the treasury : 

It added restrictions to the use, and guards against the abuse, of 
proxies : 

It forbade the officers from borrowing money or obtaining discounts 
from the bank, or contracting debts with it. 

In these and sundry other particulars, the senate bill was more guarded 
and restrained than the executive bill. 

These diversities between the two schemes mainly respect the efficiency 
of the proposed institution. They did not touch any debatable question 
of constitutional power. 

Such a question of constitutional power, and the only one, was pre- 
sented in the clause relating to the establishment of branches. In all 
other points the bills are the same in principle, and with very little varia- 
tion, coincident in detail — almost identical in phraseology. 

On this point of establishment of branches — the 16th fundamental rule 
in each bill — the senate plan differed from that of the executive, to the 
following extent : — 

The executive bill authorized the corporation to establish a bank for 
discount and deposite, in any state whose legislature should give its as- 
sent to such an act ; such branch being once established, not to be with- 
drawn without the assent of Congress : or, instead of establishing such 
office, the directors were authorized, from time to time, to employ any 
individual agent, or bank — with the approbation of the secretary of the 
treasury — at any place, to transact the business of the bank, other than for 
ti\e purposes of discount. 

The senate bill, first made it obligatory upon the corporation to estab- 
lish an office of discount and deposite, in any state in which two thou- 
sand shares siici,i(j have been subscribed, whenever, upon the application 
of the legislature ot ^,ich state, Congress should require the same ; sec- 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 453 

ond, the directors were authorized to establish such offices in any state or 
territory, whenever they should think it expedient, without the assent of 
the legislature ; third, or instead of establishing such offices, to employ an 
agent or bank, to be approved by the secretary of the treasury — at any 
place — to transact the business of the bank, other than for the purposes 
of discount. This latter clause being to the same effect as that in the 
executive bill. 

The above is a view of the two provisions. It will be seen how very 
narrow was the difference between Mr. Tyler's proposition and Mr. 
Clay's ; a difference, so far as constitutional power was concerned, that 
rested upon the naked alternative of — 

Branches to be established originally with the assent of the states, and 
that assent, once given, to be irrevocable ; or branches to be established 
when and where found convenient, without that original assent. 

The president maintained in vindication of the principle inserted in his 
bill, that although he could find power in the constitution to establish a 
bank, he could find none to establish a branch ; that to get this absent 
power, it was necessary that Congress should apply to each state for a 
grant of it. 

Mr. Clay, on the other hand, held that if the constitution did not give 
the power to establish a branch, no assent of a state could give it, and, 
therefore, that it was unconstitutional to attempt to derive power from the 
assent of a state. 

Upon this logic, a division of opinion arose in Congress ; not as to 
which of those positions was the sound one. It was believed there was 
not a man in either house who honestly and sincerely held with the pres- 
ident. But the question which now divided Congress was — Can not the 
president be gratified as to this notion of his regarding the assent of the 
states ? Can not Congress, if it finds motive to do so, as a matter of ex- 
pediency merely, waive and forego its right to establish a branch, and 
ordain tnat that right shall not be exercised except in such case as when 
a state may express a wish for a branch ? 

Upon this point, there was a very genera], perhaps unanimous, concur- 
rence of the whig party in the affirmative. Is it expedient to establish 
such a precedent ?* May it not be used, hereafter, to the prejudice of 
good legislation 1 On this point there was less unanimity. Some mem- 
bers were strongly opposed. Then it was suggested that the power 
might be waived, with a protestation. Many other suggestions were 
made, evincing great solicitude to comply with the president's wish, if 
possible. 

The difficulty was, at last, thought to be settled by a compromise ; to 
which, it was reported, the president had agreed. There was great re- 
pugnance to it among the whig members, but it was finally agreed to, be- 
cause the majority thought the president wished it. 



454 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

The compromise was this : The directors to have power to establish a 
branch with the assent of the state, and when established, not to be with- 
drawn without the consent of Congress : provided, first, that the power to 
establish a branch shall be unrestrained, in respect to any slate which 
shall not, at the first session of its legislature, after the passage of the 
charter, express its dissent ; in defect of which, assent shall be presumed. 
And provided, second, that whenever Congress shall deem it necessary 
and proper to the execution of powers granted by the constitution, to es- 
tablish a branch in any state, then Congress may require the directors to 
establish such branch. 

The compromise being thus arranged in conformity, as it was sup- 
posed, with the president's views, it was incorporated in the bill, and the 
whigs then hastened to pass it. There is, however, no reason to suppose 
that the president ever gave any distinct promise to accept the compro- 
mise, although such a belief was prevalent.* 

The bill incorporating the fiscal bank was finally passed by Congress 
on the 6th of August, and sent to the president for his decision. The 
vote in the senate, where the bill originated, was 26 ayes to 23 noes ; in 
the house of representatives, 128 ayes to 97 noes. The president retained 
the bill until the 16th of August, and during this interval the greatest anxi- 
ety prevailed among the whigs, with regard to the course he might con- 
clude to pursue. The president's house was filled with visiters from the 
ranks of the opposition, some of whom became his intimate advisers. 
When the whigs learned that he complained that they kept aloof from 
him, and thinking it their duty to do everything in their power to avert the 
threatened veto, they waited upon him in delegations, to apprize him of the 
feeling which was likely to arise in the country upon this act. One dele- 
gation in particular, of great respectability — the whigs representing Ohio 
— called upon him on Friday evening, the 13th of August. They told 
him frankly what they feared ; assured him of the earnest desire of the 
party to preserve harmony and good will toward the president : repre- 
sented to him the deep concern of the nation in the bank question. He 
protested his own intense feeling upon the subject ; spoke apparently with 
frankness of the difl^culties he felt in regard to certain points in the com- 
promise section ; suggested an amendment which would render this sec- 
tion acceptable to him ; declared his entire freedom from all prejudice or 
extrinsic influence in regard to the measure ; wept ; promised to pray for 
guidance ; and then asked, by way of remonstrance : " Why did you not 
send me Ewing's bill ?" 

" Would you sign that bill ?" inquired one of the delegation. 

" I would," was the reply. 

Such was the interview, as described by those who witnessed it. The 
Ohio members left his apartment fully possessed with the opinion that the 

• Kennedy. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 455 

ptesideTit was sincerely desirous to have a bank sucTi as liis cabinet min- 
ister had reported. Although they had reason to expect a veto of the pend- 
ing bill, they believed that all difficulty would be removed by adopting the 
president's plan as it came from the secretary. This opinion they infused 
into the whigs of Congress ; and the hopes of a favorable settlement of 
the question began to brighten among them. Subsequently the president 
informed one of the Ohio delegation that he wished to recall what he had 
said respecting Mr. E wing's bill, which he declared that he had not read 
when he said that he would sign it if it were sent to him. He now said 
tbat fee could not sign that, but added, " If you will examine the message 
[veto] I hav@ sent to-day, you will find shadowed forth a much better bank 
there, one that has been long endeared to me."* 

During the time while the president held the bank bill under considera- 
tion, among other friends who urged him to allow the bill to become 
a law, Mr. Botts, of Virginia, wrote him a confidential and respectful 
letter on the 10th of August, from which we make the following ex- 
tracts : — 

" It is generally understood that you are to veto the bank bill. If it he 
so, have you contemplated the consequence, in all its bearings? Can 
your cabinet sustain you in the veto. Will they not be compelled to re- 
sign 1 For whatever may be your view^s as to the principles upon which 
you came into power, it can not be denied that those on which they have 
been sustained by the country require at their hands an earnest support 
of the measure that has been demanded by the people through their rep- 
resentatives, by a majority exceeding the entire representation of Virginia 
and South Carolina, the two states in which the strongest opposition is 
supposed to exist. 

" The sub-treasury is repealed ; and the deposite system of 1836 is also 
repealed in one house, and will pass the other. Congress will not con- 
sent to take the plan suggested by the secretary of the treasury. Will 
you not find it impossible to carry on the government, and will not a resig- 
nation be forced upon you ? 

" On the contrary, if you can reconcile this bill to yourself, all is sun- 
shine and calm. Your administration will meet with the warm, hearty, 
zealous support of the whole whig party, and you will retire from the great 
theatre of national politics with the thanks, and plaudits, and approbation 
of your countrymen." 

Three days after his interview with the Ohio delegation, President Ty- 
ler sent the bank bill back to the senate, in which it originated, with his 
veto message. 

So far as this act signified his dissent from the senate bill, it surprised 
nobody. The recent reports, especially that from the Ohio delegation, 
had prepared Congress to expect it. But the substance of the message, 

• Kennedy. 



456 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

and the grounds upon which it placed the veto, greatly surprised that body 
— excepting only those who were in the secret. 

The message presents four objections to the bill : — 

First, that it is an attempt to create a bank to operate per ss over the 
Union — and therefore unconstitutional. 

Second, that it is a bank of discount — and therefore unconstitutional. 

Third, that it was not a bank exclusively confined to the power of deal- 
ing in exchanges, which would be constitutional and eminently useful, if 
conducted on the plan of the exchange operations of the old bank. 

Fourth, that the assent of the states toward establishing branches was 
not sufficiently secured. 

The first three of these objections apply as forcibly to Mr. Ewing's 
bill as to that from the senate. 

The bank proposed by the secretary was more distinctly a bank of local 
discount than the senate bank ; for the latter absolutely forbade discount- 
ing in the District of Columbia, which the other allowed. The discount 
power was as large in the secretary's plan as in the old bank. Then as 
to dealing in exchange, Mr. Ewing's plan encouraged it no more than the 
other, but left this faculty much where it was in the former charter. The 
fourth objection is peculiar to the senate's bill ; yet here the difference 
hangs by a cobweb.* 

Yet, according to the evidence of Mr. Wise, and other friends of the 
executive, Mr. Ewing's bill had been adopted by the president and his 
cabinet as a compromise of the vexed question. 

The veto message completely bewildered the whig members of Con- 
gress, and was received with dismay and anxiety by the friends of the ad- 
ministration throughout the country. Immediate efforts were made by the 
leading whigs in Congress, and the members of the cabinet, to repair, if 
possible, the evil effects which threatened the party with distraction and 
dissolution. 

A hope yet remained. The president had shadov/ed out a plan in his 
veto message, which, as he remarked to a member from Ohio, was a plan 
long endeared to him. The message was examined, and it occurred at 
once to every one, upon reading his commendation of the exchange opera- 
tions of the old bank, that the plan shadowed forth in that document was 
a bank to be constructed with reference to such dealings in exchanges as 
were described to be so beneficial to the country in the old bank, and 
which should be disabled from dealing in local discounts. 

To make sure of the president's concurrence in this matter, two gen- 
tlemen of the highest standing in Congress — Mr. Berrien, of the senate, 
and Mr. Sergeant, of the house — were deputed by the whigs to ascertain 
from him precisely what kind of a bill he would feel himself authorized 
to approve. 

• Kennedy 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 457 

They executed their commission with great fidelity ; had an interview 
with the president ; learned from him that he was in favor of a fiscal agent 
divested of the discounting power, and limited to dealing in bills of ex- 
change, other than those drawn by a citizen of one state upon another 
citizen of the same state. A bill was prepared in conformity with these 
suggestions. It was submitted to Mr. Webster, and by him to the presi- 
dent ; was approved, and sent to the house of representatives ; reported 
there, and passed. 

The interview of Messrs. Berrien and Sergeant with the president was 
on the 18th of August. The bill was prepared on the 19th, and submitted 
to the president, and approved by him. It was then returned to Mr. Ser- 
geant, who, on Friday, the 20th, introduced it into the house as an amend- 
ment to a bill then pending in committee of the whole.* It was entitled, 
" An act to provide for the better collection, safekeeping, and disburse- 
ment of the public revenue, by means of a corporation to be styled the 
fiscal corporation of the United States." The name of bank was omitted 
in'conformity with the wishes of the president.! 

On Monday, the 23d of August, at 4 o'clock, the bill was taken out of 
committee, and passed, without the alteration of a word from the original 
report, by a vote of 125 to 94. It was passed in the senate, 27 to 22, 
without amendment, on Friday, the 3d of September. 

In the meantime, several important measures proposed by the whigs in 
Congress, had been adopted in both branches, and received the approba- 
tion of the president. On the 17th of August, the day after his veto of 
the fiscal bank bill, the president informed Congress that he had signed 
the bill repealing the sub-treasury law; and on the 18th a bill, which 
had previously passed the senate, 26 to 23, to establish a uniform system 
of bankruptcy throughout the United States, was passed in the house of 
representatives, by a vote of 110 to 106 ; the votes of the democratic party 
in both houses, with very few exceptions, being in the negative. This 
bill, which was considered a prominent whig measure, was called for by 
an immense number of petitioners throughout the United States, em- 
bracing many of the largest capitalists and of the most intelligent among 
the commercial community, as well as those who were classed among the 
unfortunate, in consequence of the vicissitudes of trade. The want of a 
uniform bankrupt law had been seriously felt for nearly forty years, during 
which the country had been without a system ; particularly by that portion 
of citizens who were engaged in mercantile pursuits, whether creditors or 
debtors. 

While the bill to establish the fiscal corporation was pending in the 
house of representatives, an event occurred, which probably had an impor- 
tant influence on the mind of the president in determining his subsequent 

• Kennedy's Defence of the Twenty-seventh Congress, 
t Mr. Ewing's Letter, in Niles's Register, vol. Id., p. 34. 



458 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

action on that measure, and produced the most disastrous effects on the pros- 
pects of the whig party and the administration of Mr. Tyler. On the 21st 
of August, the following copy of a letter from Hon. John M. Botts, a dis- 
tinguished whig memher of Congress, representing the Richmond district 
of Virginia, in the house of representatives, appeared in the Madisonian, 
the official executive paper at Washington. It was accompanied with a 
notice by the editor, stating that it was forwarded to him late the previous 
evening, as having been written by the author, for the Coffeehouse, al 
Richmond, where such scraps of news are made as public as at an ex- 
change of a commercial city. " Under any other circumstances," the 
editor remarked, " we should not have felt authorized to publish it. Fore- 
warned, Mr. Tyler will be forearmed. We shall see whether Mr. Botts, 
and such as he, will succeed in ' heading' him — whether they will perpe- 
trate a legislative fraud, such as the letter describes, for the heartless pur- 
pose of ' fastening' Mr. Tyler, and forcing him into a measure which 
neither his conscience sanctions, nor his judgment approves." 

" August 16, 1841. 

"• Dear Sir : The president has finally resolved to veto the bank bill. 
It will be sent in to-day at 12 o'clock. It is impossible to tell precisely 
on what ground it will be placed. He has turned, and twisted, and 
changed his ground so often in his conversations, that it is difficult to con- 
jecture which of the absurdities he will rest his veto upon. 

" In the last conversation reported, he said his only objection was to 
that provision which presumed the assent of the states when no opinion 
was expressed, and if that was struck out, he would sign the bill. He 
had no objection to the location of branches by the directors, in the ab- 
sence of dissent expressed, but whenever it was expressed, the power to 
discount promissory notes must cease, although the agency might con- 
tinue, for the purchase and sale of foreign exchange. However, you will 
see the message. 

" Our Captain Tyler is making a desperate effort to set himself up with 
the locofocos, but he'll be headed yet, and I regret to say, it will end 
badly for him. He will be an object of execration with both parties ; 
with the one, for vetoing our bill, which was bad enough — with the other, 
for signing a worse one ; but he is hardly entitled to sympathy. He has 
refused to listen to the admonition and entreaties* of his best friends, and 
looked only to the whisperings of ambitious and designing mischief-makers 
who have collected around him. 

The veto will be received without a word, laid on the table, and ordered 
to be printed. To-night we must and will settle matters, as quietly as 
possible, but they must be settled. 

" Yours, &c., " Jno. M. Botts. 

" You'll get a bank bill, I think, but one that will serve only to fasten 
him, and to which no stock will be subscribed ; and when he finds ou» 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 459 

that he is not wiser in banking than all the rest of the worlds we may get 
a better. The excitement here is tremendous, but it will be smothered 
for the present." 

The above letter was postmarked " Washington, 16th August," and ad- 
dressed to " Coffeehouse, Richmond. (Free.) Jno. M. Botts." 

In explanation of this letter, Mr. Botts published an address to the pub- 
lic, in which he states that the former was written under strong feelings 
of indignation at the president's course, and was intended as a private let- 
ter to Mr. Ijynch, proprietor of the Coffeehouse, Richmond (a reading 
and news-room) ; that it was inadvertently directed to the Coffeehouse, 
instead of Mr. James H. Lynch. This private letter was published with- 
out the authority either of the writer or of the individual to whom it was 
written, Mr. Botts denied the correctness of the inference and construc- 
tion put upon certain expressions in this letter by the president and his 
friends. 

The secretary of the treasury, Mr. Ewing, in his letter of resignation 
to the president, remarks : " No doubt was thrown out on the subject [of 
the fiscal corporation bill] by you, in my hearing, or within my knowledge, 
until the letter of Mr. Botts came to your hands. Soon after the reading 
of that letter, you threw out strong intimations that you would veto the bill 
if it were not postponed. That letter I did and do most unequivocally 
condemn, but it did not affect the constitutionality of the bill, or justify 
you in rejecting it on that ground ; it could affect only the expediency of 
your action, and whatever you may now believe as to the scruples existing 
in your mind ; in this and in a kindred source there is strong ground to 
believe they have their origin."* 

Mr. Webster, in a letter to the two senators from Massachusetts, dated 
on the 25th of August, remarks : " I know that the president had been 
greatly troubled, in regard to the former bill, being desirous, on one hand, 
to meet the wishes of his friends, if he could, and on the other, to do jus- 
tice to his own opinions. 

" Having returned this first bill, with objections, a new one was pre- 
sented to the house, and appeared to be making rapid progress. 

" I know the president regretted this, and wished the whole subject 
might have been postponed. At the same time I believed he was dis- 
posed to consider calmly and conscientiously, whatever other measure 
might be presented to him. I have not the slightest doubt that the pres- 
ent bill was honestly and fairly intended as a measure likely to meet 
the president's approbation. I do not believe that one in fifty of the 
whigs had any sinister design whatever, if there was an individual who 
had such design. 

" But in the meantime Mr. Botts's very extraordinary letter made its ap- 
pearance. Mr. Botts is a whig of eminence and influence in our ranks. 
• Niles's Register, vol. Ixi., p. 34. 



460' ADMIXISTKATION OF TYLER. 

I need not recall to your mind the contents of that letter. Tt is enougli to 
say that it purported that the whigs designed to circumvent their own 
president, to ' head him,' as the expression was, and to place him in a 
condition of embarrassment. 

" From that moment, I felt that it was the duty of the whigs to forbear 
from pressing the bank bill further at the present time. 

" I thought it was but just in them to give decisive proof that they en- 
tertained no such purpose as seemed to be imputed to them. And since 
there was reason to believe that the president would be glad of time, for 
information and reflection, before being called on to form an opinion on 
another plan for a bank — a plan somewhat new to the country — I thought 
his known wishes ought to be complied with. I think so still. I think 
this is a course just to the president, and wise on behalf of the whig party. 

" A decisive rebuke ought, in my judgment, to be given to the intimation, 
from whatever quarter, of a disposition among the whigs to embarrass the 
president. This is the main ground of my opinion ; and such a rebuke, I 
think, would be found in the general resolution of the party to postpone 
further proceedings on the subject to the next session, now only a little 
more than three months off*. 

" The session has been fruitfnl of important acts. The wants of the 
treasury have been supplied ; provisions have been made for fortifications, 
and for the navy ; the repeal of the sub-treasury has passed ; the bank- 
rupt bill, that great measure of justice and benevolence, has been carried 
through ; and the land bill seems about to receive the sanction of Con- 
gress. 

" In all these measures, forming a mass of legislation more important, I 
will venture to say, than all the proceedings of Congress for many years 
past, the president has cordially concurred. 

" I agree, that the currency question is, nevertheless, the great question 
before the country ; but considering what has already been accomplished, 
in regard to other things ; considering the diff'erence of opinion which 
exists upon this remaining one ; and considering, especially, that it is the 
duty of the whigs effectually to repel and put down any supposition that 
they are endeavoring to put the president in a condition in which he must 
act under restraint or embarrassment, I am fully and entirely persuaded 
that the bank subject should be postponed to the next session. 

" I am, gentlemen, your friend and obedient servant, 

" Daniel Webster."* 

On the 9th of September, six days after its passage in Congress, the 
president returned the fiscal corporation bill to the house of representa- 
tives, where it originated, with his objections. The following day it was 
taken up in the house, and after debate, 103 members voted in the affirma- 
tive, and 80 in the negative ; consequently the bill was lost, two thirds not 
* Niles's Register, vol. bd., p. 55. 



ADMINISTRATION OF T7LER. 461 

voting for it. The fiscal bank bill which was returned to the senate on 
the 16th of August, it having originated in that body, was lost also, for 
want of a two-third vote. On that bill, when returned, the vote of the 
senate was 25 ayes, to 25 noes. 

The Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, one of the senators from the state of New 
York, endeavored, on each occasion, to induce the president to withhold 
his veto on the bank question. »Being on the most intimate and confidential 
terms with President Tyler, he, on the 9th of September, addressed him a 
respectful letter, in which he urged, with great ability, the importance to 
himself, the party, and the country, of his approval of the fiscal corporation 
bill. He warned him of the fatal consequences which would result from 
a second veto. He remarked : " The public mind is too much excited to 
receive another veto, without the most unequivocal manifestations of dis- 
approbation, not to say indignation. Such feelings existed, but were sup- 
pressed, on the former occasion, because it was seen that Congress was 
making a great and mighty effort to recover from the blow which that 
message inflicted — a blow the more severe and the less to be resisted, 
because inflicted by a friend — by him too who had come into power with 
the rich legacy of the lamented Harrison — namely, ' to understand and 
carry out the true principles of the government,' of which this measure 
was the leading one. These feelings can not longer be suppressed, after 
another exercise of the veto power on the present bill. That bill, it is 
well understood, was prepared in pursuance of your suggestions, after full 
consultation with your cabinet, and with other gentlemen ; and its provis- 
ions made to conform to your views, and with the unequivocal understand- 
ing that it would meet your approbation. 

" It was brought forward, and passed by your friends in Congress, for 
the purpose of obviating all difficulties on your part, believing, as they did, 
from most undoubted sources, that its provisions had received your sanc- 
tion. I can not therefore, for one moment, persuade myself that any 
credit ought to be given to a rumor of a second veto. 

" I will hope that you will seize this occasion to sustain the confidence 
of the party which placed you where you are ; and that you will, by the 
approval of this bill, render your administration as popular as you will 
make the country prosperous, and the people happy. 

" Let no hasty opinions which you have expressed against the bill, pre- 
vent you from consummating an act so honorable to yourself, so desirable 
to your party, so important to the country. It is the part of a great man 
to surmount the obstacles which obstruct the way of smaller men. Wash- 
ington had his veto of the first bank bill all prepared, with the intention 
of sending it to Congress ; but that great man changed his purpose at the 
very last moment, and approved the bill. Is not his example worthy of 
imitation ? Can you not, ought you not, to exhibit, on this occasion, those 
high qualities for which he was so distinguished, and which in him com- 



462 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

manded the admiration of the whole country 1 How enviable would be 
your position ! How laudable the ambition to imitate such an example \ 
By your approval of this bill, the most intimate and cordial relations would 
be preserved between yourself and your political friends — the confidence 
of the party would be sustained, and we should all have the proud satis- 
faction of interchanging those reciprocal ^acts of kindness and good feel- 
ing which are the life and soul of all honorable, political associations. 
May I not hope, then, that this great and patriotic purpose may influence 
your decision, and that we may all return to our constituents, having by 
our united action accomplished the great objects for which we were called 
together, and receive their annunciation of ' Well done, good and faithful 
servants.'" 

The president's vetoes of the two bank bills were of course received 
with far different feelings by the two political parties into which the 
country was divided. While the whigs viewed the president's course 
with indignation, and denounced him as unfaithful to the party which had 
elevated him to his high station, their democratic opponents in Congress 
and throughout the country, warmly applauded Mr. Tyler for defeating the 
plans for a national bank, and numerous meetings of the democracy were 
held, in which the president was highly commended for his independent 
course. Care, however, was taken, by the democratic leaders, to prevent 
any encouragement being held out to Mr. Tyler that he would be ac- 
knowledged as the head of the party, or a candidate for re-election. Mr. 
Van Buren, in a letter to his political friends in New York, on the 5th of 
September, remarked, that " if Mr. Tyler should complete the work so 
wisely begun, by disapproving the bill for the creation of a fiscal corpora- 
tion, he will be entitled to the thanks of the country." The peculiar tone 
of this letter occasioned a general smile, wherever read. 

With regard to public opinion, it was denied by the opposition in Con- 
gress that the people had decided in favor of a national bank, by the pres- 
idential election of 1840. To this the whigs replied, that the newspaper 
organs of the late administration displayed at their head, during the con- 
test, the words, " An independent treasury, and no national bank," and the 
issue thus made was determined against them. That in the election of 
members of the house of representatives, a majority of about forty of the 
whole body was elected, composed of known friends of a national bank, and 
thus the people had decided in favor of such an institution. Mr. Clay, in 
his speech in the senate on President Tyler's first veto message, said : 
*' It is incontestable that it was the great, absorbing, and controlling ques- 
tion, in all our recent divisions and exertions. I am firmly convinced, 
and it is my deliberate judgment, that an immense majority, not less than 
two thirds of the nation, desire such an institution. All doubts in this re- 
spect ought to be dispelled, by the recent decisions of the two houses of 
Congress. I speak of them as evidence of popular opinion. In the house 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 463 

of representatives the majority was one hundred and thirty-one to one hun- 
dred. If the house had been full, and but for the modification of the six- 
teenth fundamental condition, there would have been a probable majority 
of forty -seven. Is it to be believed that this large majority of the imme- 
diate representatives of the people, fresh from among them, and to whom 
the president seemed inclined, in his opening message, to refer this very 
question, have mistaken the wishes of their constituents 1" 

In the debate on the second veto, in the house of representatives, Mr. 
Botts said : " It is certain, that when we came here no doubt was enter- 
tained by either party that he [the president] would sign a bank bill : our 
friends thought so, or it would not have been discussed, as it was, for ten 
or twelve weeks ; the other party thought so, or they would not have got- 
ten up the cry of repeal ! repeal ! which resounded, not only through the 
walls of this capitol, but became the watchword of the parly throughout 
the country. But we are now told that we must wait, give time ; and it 
has been intimated by the president that the people are not in favor of a 
bank ! Indeed, sir, the people not in favor of a bank ! Why, what evi- 
dence is required stronger than that presented ? You have a majority of 
thirty-one voting for this bank, with seven absentees who voted for the 
first bank, which gives you thirty-eight. Several others, who voted against 
it, acknowledge their constituents to be in favor of some bank, though they 
were not satisfied with this, which gives you forty, or upward. Which 
of those voting for a bank does the president charge with misrepresenting 
his constituents 1 None, that we have heard of. Then suppose each 
member to represent his constituents fairly, and each one to represent 
sixty thousand persons, which is a reasonable average, and a majority of 
forty on this floor gives you a majority of two million four hundred thou- 
sand of the population of the United States in favor of a bank ; and yet 
we are to be told it is a doubtful question, upon which the people have 
expressed no opinion !" 

The two principal motives attributed to Mr. Tyler as the cause of his 
vetoes of the bank bills, were, first, his constitutional scruples, with a de- 
termination to preserve his character for consistency ; and second, having 
set his heart upon a second term for the presidency, he was charged with 
endeavoring to ingratiate himself with the democratic party by his bank 
vetoes, and thus become the candidate of that party for re-election, in 
1844. It is evident that his position as a whig president could not be 
sustained without an abandonment of the peculiar notions and principles 
he had formerly professed, as a believer in the Virginia doctrines of a 
strict construction of the constitution. He had argued and voted in Con- 
gress against a protective tariff, against the constitutionality of a national 
bank, and against the constitutionality of internal improvements by the 
general government ; all leading measures proposed and advocated by the 



464 ADMINISTRATION OF TVLER. 

whig party, in reference to which a near approach to unanimity prevailed 
among the whigs throughout the nation, in 1840. 

That the opposition party considered Mr. Tyler as occupying a mista- 
ken position, while attempting to act with the whig party, is shown by the 
debates in Congress, and the language of the opposition press. In the de- 
bate on the fiscal corporation bill, in the senate, Mr. Buchanan said : 
" The president had shown himself a man of mettle, and had not been 
willing to sacrifice all his old Virginia principles, for the sake of a party 
from which he differed on almost every great and leading point of policy." 
The Richmond Enquirer, previous to the first bank veto, said : " Mr. Ty- 
ler's j9rmc?J5/ei', duties, policy, interests, are all with us [the democrats], if 
he can only see them. But will he see them ? We hope and trust he 
will not throw himself into the arms of the federal whigs." 

The general impression of the whigs appears to have been, that Mr. 
Tyler, in accepting the nomination of the party for vice-president, gave an 
implied pledge that he would act with the party in carrying out their 
views and measures. The author of the work before quoted, " Defence 
of the Whigs, by a Member of the Twenty-seventh Congress," says : 
"The mass of the whigs, for the most part, knew very little of Mr. Tyler 
and his opinions ; that they cared less — never contemplating the event of 
his succession : that as he professed to be the friend of their friend, Mr. 
Clay — was anxious for his nomination — they had no doubt that he was a 
whig, and would do the duty of a whig, whatever might betide : that as 
he had been on the whig ticket for the vice-presidency once before, and 
came to Harrisburg as a member of the whig convention, he thereby pro- 
claimed himself to be a whig, and could, without dishonor, be nothing else ; 
especially that he could not be a secret enemy to the whigs, and harbor 
an undivulged purpose in his mind to betray them, if ever they should 
trust him." 

" The only point upon which any anxiety for Mr. Tyler's whig princi- 
ples was supposed to have a foundation, was upon the question of the 
bank. In the senate of the United States he had made a mitigated oppo- 
sition to the bank ; an opposition consisting of one part scruple and three 
parts praise. He had spoken there in terms of warm commendation of 
the bank, and especially of the beneficence of its exchanges. Then again 
he said : ' If the constitution "authorized its creation, no man, with the ex- 
perience of the past, could well doubt the propriety of a well-regulated 
and well-guarded bank.' His inaugural address is very significant in ref- 
erence to the prevailing doubts : ' The public interest demands that if any 
war has existed between the government and the currency it shall cease. 
I shall promptly give my sanction to any constitutional measure which, 
originating in Congress, shall have for its object the restoration of a sound 
circulating medium,' &c. 

*' He had said in private, to several friends, that his opinion on the con- 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 465 

stiCutionality of a bank had undergone a change. Indeed, we infer as 
much as this from a letter written by him to the Henrico committee du- 
ring the canvass of 1840. It is clear he could conceive a case in which 
it might be constitutional. Add to these the expressions contained in the 
inaugural address, and it is quite apparent that the mind of Mr. Tyler was 
in a.state of transition, at least, on this topic. Nay, that he had absolutely 
changed, as he told several. The whole whig press throughout the 
Union, after the inaugural address, proclaimed him as safe upon the bank 
question ; the Madisonian — his peculiar organ — so proclaimed him. Why 
did he not deny it, and say he was misapprehended ?" 

The foregoing expresses the view« entertained by the whig party gener- 
ally with regard to the course of Mr. Tyler. On the other hand his confiden- 
tial friends denied that his conduct was fairly subject to the charge of in- 
consistency or unfaithfulness to his professions, but that he was actuated 
only by conscientious motives and a regard for his oft-repeated and un- 
changed opinions on the bank question. Mr. Rives, in defending the 
president's first veto, in the senate, said : " There being nothing in the 
opinions of the fathers and founders of the republican school to induce 
President Tyler, as a consistent disciple of that school for twenty-five 
years past, and one who had over and over expressed his conviction of 
the unconstitutionality of a bank of the United States, to change that opin- 
ion, what course but that which he has pursued was left to him when the 
bill for such a bank was presented for his approval 1 Who is the individ- 
ual that by imiversal consent is recognised as the founder of what the 
president refers to as ' the republican school?' It is Thomas Jefferson. 
For however I concur with the senator from Kentucky [Mr. Clay] in pay- 
ing all homage to the unrivalled virtues and ever-glorious public services 
of George Washington, I must be permitted to say that he has not gener- 
ally been considered as belonging to that republican party to which the 
president alludes." 

The president's veto of the fiscal corporation bill, was received with 
the greatest indignation by the whig party throughout the country. Many 
regretted that the measure had been urged in Congress after the veto of 
the first bank bill, but the public disapprobation of the president's conduct 
was general among those who had been the means of elevating him to the 
position he now occupied with power and disposition to thwart their 
wishes. 

The first effects of the veto on the whig party were felt at the seat of 
government. The fiscal corporation bill was returned to Congress on the 
9th of September ; on Saturday, the 11th, all the members of the cabinet, 
except Mr. Webster, feeling that all confidence between the president and 
themselves was gone, resigned. The causes of their resignation were 
afterward given to the public by Mr. E wing, secretary of the treasury, Mr. 
Bell, secretary of war, Mr. Badger, secretary of the navy, and Mr. Crit- 
30 



466 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

tenden, attorney-general.* Mr. Granger, postmaster-general, did not pub- 
lish his letter of resignation, but was understood to have concurred with 
his colleagues, and the advice of his whig friends in Congress, and his 
resignation followed soon after the other members of the cabinet. 

Mr. Webster, having concluded to remain in the cabinet, as secretary 
of state, addressed a letter, on the 13th of September, to the editors of 
the National Intelligencer, in which he observed : " Lest any misappre- 
hension should exist as to the reasons which have led me to differ from 
the course pursued by my late colleagues, I wish to say that I remain, 
first, because I have seen no sufficient reason for the dissolution of the 
late cabinet, by the voluntary act of its own members. 

" I am perfectly persuaded of the absolute necessity of an institution, 
under the authority of Congress, to aid revenue and financial operations, 
and to give the country the blessings of a good currency, and cheap ex- 
changes. Notwithstanding what has passed, I have confidence that the 
president will co-operate with the legislature in overcoming all difficulties 
in the attainment of these objects," &c. 

In a letter to H. Ketchum, Esq., of New York, dated the 11th of Sep- 
tember, Mr. Webster said : " You will have learned that Messrs. Ewing, 
Bell, Badger, and Crittenden, have resigned their respective offices. 
Probably Mr. Granger will feel bound to follow the example. This oc- 
currence can hardly cause you the same degree of regret which it has oc- 
casioned to me ; as they are not only my friends, but persons with whom 
I had, for some time, a daily official intercourse. I could not partake in 
this movement. 

" It is supposed to be justified, I presume, by the differences which 
have arisen between the president and Congress, upon the means of es- 
tablishing a proper fiscal agency, and restoring a sound state of the cur- 
rency ; and collateral matters growing out of these differences. I regret 
these differences as deeply as any man ; but I have not been able to see 
in what manner the resignation of the cabinet was likely either to remove 
or mitigate the evils produced by them. On the contrary, my only reli- 
ance for a remedy for those evils has been, and is, on the reunion, concil- 
iation, and perseverance of the whole whig party, and I by no means de- 
spair of seeing yet accomplished, by these means, all that we desire. 

" My particular connexion with the administration, however, is in an- 
other department. I think very humbly — none can think more humbly — 
of the value of the services which I am able to render to the public in 
that post. But as there is, so far as I know, on all subjects affecting our 
foreign relations, a concurrence of opinion between the president and my- 
self, and as there is nothing to disturb the harmony of our intercourse, I 
have not felt it consistent with the duty which I owe to the country, 
to run the risk, by any sudden or abrupt proceeding, of embarrassing the 
* See Niles's Register, vol. Ixi. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 467 

executive, in regard to subjects, and questions now immediately pending, 
and which intimately alfect the preservation of the peace of the country." 

In view of the critical situation of the country at that time, with respect 
to our relations with Great Britain, particularly on the subject of the 
northeast boundary question, considerate men of the whig party justified 
Mr. Webster in his decision to remain in the cabinet, at least until the 
negotiations then pending were brought to a conclusion. Much difference 
of opinion prevailed among the whigs as to the policy of the resignation 
of the other members of the cabinet. It was a current opinion, after the 
second veto, that the cabinet ought to wait to be turned out. That they 
should not by a voluntary act abandon their posts. The majority of the 
cabinet themselves, and many others, thought otherwise. Every sentiment 
which could move honorable men revolted at the idea of holding a confi- 
dential relation where there was no confidence. As regards a portion of 
the cabinet, the resignation was reluctantly delayed. It was delayed in 
deference to the advice of those who still hoped that affairs might take 
some unforeseen turn favorable to harmony. They resigned, however, at 
last, as they stated, in their own published letters, not because the presi- 
dent differed from them on the question of a bank. They threw up their 
places because he had forfeited his word, treated them unworthily, and 
had manifested his hostility to the principles and pledges of the party 
with whom they were associated, to which he professed to belong, and 
who had given to him all the consideration and importance incident to his 
station.* 

Feeling deeply the injury which the course of the president had inflicted 
upon the whig party and their cause, and indignant at the position in 
which he had placed them, the whig members of Congress held a meeting 
on the 11th of September, and appointed a committee of three senators 
and fire members of the house, to prepare an address to the people of the 
United States, with regard to the measures which had been adopted and 
those which had failed at the extra session, with such other matters as 
might exhibit the condition and prospects of the whig party. The com- 
mittee appointed were Messrs. Berrien, of Georgia, Tallmadge, of New 
York, and Smith, of Indiana, senators ; Everett, of Vermont, Mason, of 
Ohio, Kennedy, of Maryland, John C. Clark, of New York, and Rayner, 
of North Carolina, on the part of the house. The meeting then adjourned, 
to meet again on Monday morning. 

On Monday, the 13th of September, a few hours previous to the close 
of the session, as Congress adjourned on that evening, the whig mem- 
bers still remaining at the seat of government — for many had set out for 
their homes — again assembled, and adopted a manifesto, or address, which 
was read by Mr. Kennedy, as the report of the committee — of which 
twenty thousand copies were ordered to be published — by which they 
• Kennedy's Defence of the Whigs. 



468 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

proclaimed to the nation, that from that day forth all political alliance be- 
tween them and John Tyler was at an end ; that from that day " those 
who brought the president into power could no longer, in any manner or 
degree, be justly held responsible or blamed for the administration of the 
executive branch of the government." At the same time acknowledging 
it to be " the duty of the whigs, in and out of Congress, to give to his offi- 
cial acts and measures fair and full consideration, approving them and co- 
operating in their support when they could, and differing from and oppo- 
sing any of them only from a high sense of public duty." 

The manifesto was a plain, direct paper, stating the case of the whigs 
fully to the country. It told what they had done at the extra session ; 
what they had failed to do, and why. It disclosed their observation of 
the past conduct of Mr. Tyler, and their apprehension of his future course ; 
the' withdrawal of his confidence from the whigs, and his affinity with 
their enemies ; and it announced their entire separation from him. It pro- 
claimed the principles upon which the whigs would continue, as in times 
past, their organization. 

This manifesto had the full concurrence and actual participation of from 
sixty to eighty whig members — being nearly all who were at the seat of 
government when it was adopted.* 

There were many whigs, in and out of Congress, however, who 
doubted the expediency of adopting the address at that time, and denoun- 
cing the president, before further time was given for reflection, and a 
more full development of his views and intentions. Many hesitated as to 
the wisdom and propriety of running the risk of throwing the patronage of 
the general government into the hands of their political opponents, and by 
driving the president from the whig party, to prevent the probable suc- 
cess of other whig measures during his administration. 

It was expected by some that the president would select the members 
of his new cabinet from the ranks of the democratic party, but he promptly 
made his appointments of the following distinguished whigs and conserva- 
tives, viz : Walter Forward, of Pennsylvania, secretary of the treasury ; 
John M'Lean, of Ohio, secretary of war; Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, 
secretary of the navy; Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, postmaster- 
general ; Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina, attorney-general. These 
nominations were all confirmed by the senate, previous to their adjourn- 
ment. Judge M'Lean declining to resign his seat on the bench of the 
supreme court, for the office of secretary of war, John C. Spencer, of New 
York, was appointed to take charge of that department. Thus the new 
cabinet was organized in a more satisfactory manner to the public than 
had been anticipated by the whigs ; while the hopes of the democrats, 
which had been raised by the rupture between the president and Congress, 
were somewhat dampened. 

• Kennedy. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 469 

The principal acts passed by Congress at the extra session were the 
following: Authorizing a loan of twelve millions of dollars, for the pur- 
pose of supplying the wants of the treasury on account of deficiencies du- 
ring Mr. Van Buren's administration ; appropriating twenty-five thousand 
dollars, or one year's salary of the president, for the relief of Mrs. Harri- 
son, widow of the late president ; making appropriations for a home squad- 
ron ; repealing the sub-treasury act ; providing for the payment of navy 
pensions ; establishing a uniform system of bankruptcy ; reviving and ex- 
tending the charters of banks in the District of Columbia ; appropriating 
the proceeds of the sales of the public lands, and to grant pre-emption 
rights ; making appropriations for various fortifications, for ordnance, and 
for preventing and suppressing Indian hostilities ; providing for placing 
Greenough's statue of Washington in the rotunda of the capitol ; author- 
izing the transmission of letters and packets free of postage ; and an act 
relating to duties and drawbacks. The last act was intended to provide 
for the deficiency of revenue caused by the large number of articles ad- 
mitted free of duty by the tariff law of 1833 ; on many of those articles a 
duty of twenty per cent, was now laid. The act providing for the distri- 
bution of the proceeds of the public lands among the several states, was 
passed substantially according to the plan proposed by Mr. Clay, but a 
clause introduced by certain opponents of a protective tariff, impaired its 
efliciency, and in the sequel rendered the law inoperative. The clause 
referred to provided that when the tariff of duties on imports was raised 
to a rate above twenty per cent, ad valorem, the distribution should be sus- 
pended until this cause be removed. Twenty-five acts and five joint 
resolutions were passed at this extra session. 

Among the appointments confirmed by the senate at this session, were 
the following : Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, minister to Great Brit- 
ain ; William Hunter (then charge d'affaires), minister to Brazil; William 
Boulware, of Virginia, charge d'affaires to Naples. 

Considerable excitement prevailed in the United States during this 
year, in consequence of the arrest and trial at the circuit court in Utica, in 
the state of New York, of Alexander M'Leod. He had been a deputy 
sheriff of Niagara district, in Upper Canada, and was charged with having 
murdered an American named Amos Durfee, on the 29th of December, 
1837, at which time an American steamboat, called the Caroline, was de- 
stroyed by a parly from Canada, at Fort Schlosser, on the American side 
of the Niagara river. As it was proved that this party acted under Brit- 
ish authority, and the British government having claimed M'Leod as a 
British subject, an attempt was made by the government of the United 
States to prevent the trial by the state of New York. Governor Seward, 
of New York, however, refused to give up the prisoner, and the trial pro- 
ceeded. Happily, M'Leod was acquitted by the jury, and discharged, 
and thus a very vexed question between the United States government 



470 ADMINISTRATION OF TVLER. 

and a state authority, as to jurisdiction ; and thus also was one point of 
unpleasant altercation between the United States and Great Britain so far 
settled. The state elections during the summer and fall of 1841, resulted 
generally unfavorably for the whigs,^ as might have been expected from 
the general dissatisfaction felt by that party toward the president, and the 
renewed spirit and vigor infused thereby into the democratic party. The 
president and his particular friends considered the result of these elec- 
tions as a proof that the 'people approved of his course on the bank ques- 
tion ; and after the adjournment of Congress but few of the democratic 
office-holders were removed by the president. 

The second session of the twenty-seventh Congress commenced on the 
6th of December, 1841, and continued until the 31st of August, 1842, a 
period of 269 days, and was the longest congressional session that has 
ever occurred. During this time, one thousand and ninety-eight reports 
were made, six hundred and ten bills reported, and two hundred and ninety- 
nine bills passed, besides about one hundred private bills matured, engrossed, 
and ready for final passage at the ensuing session, but retained by the 
house, because the senate were occupied by the treaty and other important 
subjects. More important business was done by this Congress than by 
any Congress which ever convened since the formation of the government, 
although a considerable portion of their time was exhausted in discussing 
executive vetoes and protests. 

The great and leading measure of the session was a new tariff law ; by 
which ample provision was made for the public revenue, and protection 
afforded to American manufactures and other branches of national in- 
dustry. This bill was signed by the president, after he had previously 
returned, with objections, two different tariff bills passed by Congress, 
the first, the provisional revenue bill, on the 29th of June ; the other on 
the 9th of August, the same bill, in substance, as that which received his 
signature, except that it contained a clause providing for distributing the 
proceeds of the public lands. As the president now gave Congress to 
understand that the distribution clause could not receive his sanction, it 
was stricken out in the third bill reported in Congress, which, being 
passed by a close vote in both houses, received the signature of the presi- 
dent, and became a law, by the sacrifice of the land bill passed at the for- 
' mer session, which was thus rendered inoperative. Great indignation 
was felt and expressed toward the president, by the whigs in Congress, 
as he had recommended the distribution of the proceeds of the public 
lands, in his first message. 

Among other acts of importance passed at this session, was an act for 
the apportionment of representatives according to the census of 1840 ; by 
which the ratio was fixed at 70,680 for each representative, with one 
additional member for each state having a fraction greater than one moiety 
of said ratio. By the same bill, representatives were directed to be cho- 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 471 

sen by single districts. Acts were also passed extending the loan of 
1841, for an addition of five millions of dollars thereto ; to authorize the 
issiie of treasury-notes ; requiring foreign regulations of commerce to be 
laid annually before Congress ; authorizing the construction of a war- 
Bteamer for harbor defence ; to provide for the armed occupation and set- 
tlement of part of East Florida ; to provide for publishing an account of the 
exploring expedition under the command of Lieutenant Wilkes, of the Uni- 
ted States navy ; amending the act to promote the progress of the useful 
arts ; to provide further remedial justice in the courts of the United States. 
It appeared, at the commencement of the session, that neither of the 
great political parties, in either branch of Congress, was disposed to sus- 
tain the president in his peculiar views and policy. Mr. Rives was the 
only whig in the senate on whose support he could rely, and in the house 
of representatives not more than five or six whigs could be considered as 
the peculiar friends of the executive. It was therefore evident that the 
president had lost the confidence of both parties, and that any attempt to 
create a third party in his favor would prove a failure. Numerous adven- 
turers, however, seeking office and political preferment, flattered Mr. Ty- 
ler with false hopes, assuring him that the people would sustain him, 
regardless of parties as then organized. 

The subject of a national bank was not again acted on by Congress. 
The secretary of the treasury, Mr. Forward, at the commencement of 
the session, in compliance with a resolution of the house of representa- 
tives, reported a plan of a fiscal agent, or exchequer, for the manage- 
ment of the government finances. This plan was referred to a select com- 
mittee in each house, and favorable reports were made thereon, by Mr. 
Tallmadge of the senate,, and Mr. Cushing of the house, each accompa- 
nied with a bill to establish an exchequer board connected with the 
treasury department. Neither of these bills, however, received the favor- 
able consideration of Congress, and the scheme of an exchequer was there- 
fore abandoned. 

An important treaty was negotiated in 1842, at Washington, between 
the United States and Great Britain, by which the northeastern boundary 
was definitely settled, in a manner satisfactory to the states of Maine and 
Massachusetts, which were most directly interested therein. Lord Ash- 
burton, who was sent a special minister to the United States for that pur- 
pose, acted on the part of Great Britain, and Mr. Webster, secretary of 
state, on the part of the United States. The treaty was ratified by the 
senate on the 20th of August, 1842, by a vote of 39 to 9. Besides set- 
tling the boundary question, it provided for the final suppression of the 
African slave-trade, and for the giving up of criminals fugitive from jus- 
tice, in certain cases. 

The third session of the twenty-seventh Congress commenced on the 
5th of December, 1842, and continued until the expiration of their term, 



472 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER, 

on the 3d of March, 1843. A large number of acts were passed, many 
of which were of a private nature. Of the numerous public acts passed, 
but few are of interest to the historical reader. Among them may be 
named — an act regulating the currency of foreign gold and silver coins ; to 
fix the value of certain foreign moneys at the customhouses ; to test the 
practicability of establishing a system of electro-magnetic telegraphs ; 
providing the means of future intercourse between the United States and 
the government of China ; and to repeal the bankrupt act. This latter law 
was thus permitted to remain in operation but little more than one year, 
and was repealed by the same Congress which enacted it. 

The twenty-eighth Congress commenced their first session on the 4th 
of December, 1843, and adjourned on the 17th of June, 1844. There was 
a large democratic majority in the house of representatives, and on the 
vote for speaker, John W. Jones (democrat), of Virginia., received 128 
votes, against 59 for John White, of Kentucky, the late whig speaker. 
The whig members protested against the right to seats of the members 
elected from New Hampshire, Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri, they 
not having been chosen by districts, in conformity to the act of the last 
Congress. The house refused to allow the protest to be read, by a vote 
of ayes 69, noes 124, and the members referred to were admitted to the 
seats claimed by them. 

The whigs retained a majority in the senate, and in consequence of the 
disagreement between the two branches of Congress, but few acts of gen- 
eral political interest were passed at this session. Among these may be 
mentioned — an act making appropriations for certain harbors and rivers ; 
for fortifications ; for revolutionary and other pensioners ; to refund the 
fine imposed on General Andrew Jackson at New Orleans ; and an act to 
amend the judiciary act of September 24, 1789. A large number of pri- 
vate acts, and laws respecting the territories, with others of a local char- 
acter, were passed. 

In March, 1843, Mr. Forward resigned, as secretary of the treasury, 
and John C. Spencer was transferred from the war department to that 
of the treasury. Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts, was previously nomi- 
nated by the president for secretary of the treasury, and rejected by the 
senate. 

Mr. Webster resigned the ofllce of secretary of state, in May, 1843, and 
Hugh S. Legare, attorney-general, was appointed acting secretary of 
state, but was soon after taken ill, and died, while on a visit to Boston, on 
the 20lh of June, 1843. Mr. Legare was a gentleman of superior talents, 
and bore an excellent character with all parties. He had been attached 
to the democratic party, which he left during the administration of Mr. 
Van Buren, when that president proposed the sub-treasury plan. He 
afterward acted with the conservatives, and supported the election of Har- 
rison and Tyler, in 1840. 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 473 

In July, 1843, President Tyler reorganized his cabinet, as follows: — 

Abel P. Upshur, of Virginia, secretary of state ; John C. Spencer, of 
New York, secretary of the treasury ; James M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, 
secretary of war ; David Henshaw, of Massachusetts, secretary of the 
navy ; Charles A. Wickliffe, of Kentucky, postmaster-general ; John Nel- 
son, of Maryland, attorney-general. 

Messrs. Porter, Henshaw, and Nelson, were attached to the democratic 
party ; the other members of the cabinet had been known as whigs or 
conservatives. At the next session of the senate, the nominations of Mr. 
Porter, as secretary of war, and of Mr. Henshaw, as secretary of the 
navy, were rejected. Thereupon the president nominated William Wil- 
kins, of Pennsylvania, for secretary of war, and Thomas W. Gilmer, of 
Virginia, for secretary of the navy ; and they were confirmed by the sen- 
ate, on the 15th of February, 1844. 

In consequence of a melancholy catastrophe which occurred on board 
the Unhed States steamship-of-war Princeton, on the river Potomac, on 
the 28th of February 1844, by the explosion of one of the large guns of 
that ship, the secretary of state, Mr. Upshur, and the secretary of war, Mr. 
Gilmer, lost their lives. On the reception of the president's message an- 
nouncing this painful occurrence, resolutions of sympathy, of respect, and 
for the usual mourning, were adopted in each branch of Congress. 

For a short period, Mr. Nelson, attorney-general of the United States, 
discharged the duties of secretary of state, ad interim. Commodore Lewis 
Warrington officiated as secretary of the navy, until the vacancy occa- 
sioned by the death of Mr. Gilmer was supplied. The president appointed 
John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, secretary of state, and John Y. Ma- 
son, of Virginia, secretary of the navy ; both of which nominations were 
promptly confirmed by the senate. Mr. Spencer resigned the office of 
secretary of the treasury, in May, 1844, and George M. Bibb, of Kentucky, 
was appointed in his place. 

Provision having been made by Congress for a mission to China, Caleb 
Gushing, of Massachusetts, was appointed commissioner to that empire, 
by the president, in May, 1843 ; and during a remarkably short period 
while he was absent on his mission, the commissioner was enabled to ne- 
gotiate a valuable treaty with the Chinese government, which treaty was 
promptly ratified by the president and senate. 

A treaty of annexation was concluded between the United States and 
the republic of Texas, at Washington, April 12, 1844, by Mr. Calhoun, 
secretary of state, on the part of the United States, and Messrs. Van 
Zandt and Henderson on the part of Texas. On being submitted to the 
senate, by the president, it was rejected, on the 8th of June, by a vote of 
ayes 16, noes 35. Of those who voted in the negative, seven were dem- 
ocrats, viz., Messrs. Fairfield, of Maine, Atherton, of New Hampshire, 
Niles, of Connecticut, Wright, of New York, Allen and Tappan, of Ohio, 



474 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

and Benton, of Missouri. Immediately after the rejection of the treaty, 
Mr. Benton, in open senate, introduced a bill for the annexation of Texas, 
consent of Mexico to be first obtained. 

The president sent a message to the house of representatives, announ- 
cing the rejection of the treaty with Texas, with a view of inducing that 
body to originate some measure by which to accomplish the object which 
the treaty contemplated. The house referred the message to their com- 
mittee on foreign relations, but the subject was not definitely acted on 
until the next session. In the senate, on the 10th of June, Mr. Benton, 
in a speech of two hours, characterized the Texas project as a fraud upon 
the people of the country — a base, wicked, miserable presidential in- 
trigue, originating in the most vicious purpose, and, so far, prosecuted for 
the most knavish conclusions, regardless alike of the character of the 
country, its treaty obligations, or its peace. He moved to suspend all 
previous orders, for the purpose of taking up the bill which he had submit- 
ted for the annexation of Texas, when Mexico should sanction the meas- 
ure. The message of President Tyler, appealing from the decision of the 
senate, in a case in which the constitution makes that body expressly his 
advisers and the controllers of his course, Mr. Benton considered to be an 
insult to that body, which merited impeachment. He alluded to his own 
far-back prophecies and writings, concerning Texas, and made some allu- 
sions to Messrs. Walker and Woodbury, " Texas neophytes," who had 
been so anxious to make great demonstrations of love for Texas. For 
himself, he entertained no such anxiety, because his sentiments had 
always been known. It was not with him a question of " now or never ;" 
but Texas then, now, and always. 

An effort was made by the most zealous ofiice-holders under the gen- 
eral government, and other persons interested in the success of Mr. Ty- 
ler, to create a popularity for the president out of the question of the an- 
nexation of Texas ; but the attempt to enlist the feelings of the advocates 
of that measure in favor of the re-election of Mr. Tyler to the presidency, 
proved a total failure. 

It was evident, however, that the Texas question was becoming one of 
great importance, and that the annexation of that territory to the United 
States was daily growing in favor with the people of the southern and 
western states. The democratic party, therefore, in the southern section 
of the Union, resolved to present the Texas question to the people as a 
new issue at the approaching presidential election. As a large proportion 
of the party in the northern states were opposed to the annexation of 
Texas, there was a prospect of disunion in the democratic ranks. 

The national conventions of both the whig and democratic parties were 
to be held in May, 1844, for the purpose of nominating candidates for 
president and vice-president. Mr. Clay, of Kentucky, was the whig can- 
didate named for the presidency, by general consent of that party. Mr 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 475 

Van Buren appeared to be preferred to any other candidate, by the largest 
proportion of the democratic party. 

In answer to letters and inquiries addressed to them on the Texas ques- 
tion, both Mr. Clay and Mr. Van Buren came out, in the month of April, 1844, 
■with their views on the subject. They were both understood to be unfa- 
vorable to the immediate annexation of Texas, particularly without the con- 
sent of Mexico. Mr. Clay's letter was generally satisfactory to his polit- 
ical friends ; but the course of Mr. Van Buren determined the democrats 
of the south to prevent his nomination for the presidency, by the conven- 
tion of that party, if possible, and to seek some other candidate, who was 
favorable to southern views and feelings on the Texas question. 

The whig national convention, for the nomination of president and vice- 
president, met at Baltimore, on the 1st of May, 1844. Every state in the 
Union was represented by delegates, and the Hon. Ambrose Spencer, of 
New York, was chosen president of the convention, assisted by a number 
of vice-presidents and secretaries. Henry Clay,- of Kentucky, was nomi- 
nated by acclamation, as the candidate to be supported by the whigs, for 
president of the United States, at the ensuing election ; and on the third 
vote, Theodore Frelinghuysen, formerly of New Jersey, but then a resi- 
dent of New York, was nominated as the candidate for vice-president. 
Great unanimity prevailed in the convention after the nominations were 
announced, and enthusiastic demonstration to support the candidates 
named. 

The democratic national convention of delegates for the nomination of 
candidates for president and vice-president, met at Baltimore, on the 27th 
of May, 1844. The states were all represented, except South Carolina. 
The Hon. Hendrick B. Wright, of Pennsylvania, was chosen president of 
the convention, assisted by numerous vice-presidents and secretaries. 
Most of the delegations from the different states had been instructed to 
vote for Mr. Van Buren for president, but the Texas question had been 
taken up by the party since those instructions were given, and Mr. Van 
Buren's letter on the subject had rendered the policy of his nomination 
doubtful with many who had been anxious for his re-election to the 
presidency. 

On the first ballot by the convention, for a candidate for president, Mr. 
Van Buren received 146 votes. General Cass 83, Colonel Johnson, of 
Kentucky, 24, Mr. Calhoun 6, and there were 7 for other persons ; thus 
showing a decided majority in favor of Mr. Van Buren. But the conven- 
tion having adopted the rule which had governed on former similar occa- 
sions, requiring two thirds of the votes for a nomination, no choice was 
made. Seven subsequent ballots took place, on the last of which Mr. 
Van Buren received 104 votes. General Cass 114, and 44 for James K. 
Polk, of Tennessee. The Virginia and New York delegations then each 
separately retired for consultation, and on their return to the convention it 



476 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

was announced, by Mr. Roane, of Virginia, that the delegation from that 
state would give their vote for James K. Polk. Mr. Butler, of New York, 
responded to Mr. Roane, and having the authority of Mr. Van Buren, 
withdrew his name, and stated that the delegation from New York would 
cast thirty-five votes in favor of Mr. Polk, the remaining member voting 
blank. The call of the states being made for a ninth ballot, a unanimous 
vote from all the delegations was given for James K. Polk, as the demo- 
cratic candidate for president of the United States. Silas Wright, of New 
York, was nominated for vice-president, being then in the United States 
senate, at Washington. The nomination was declined by Mr. Wright, 
and on the following morning the convention nominated George M. Dallas, 
of Pennsylvania, for that station. 

The candidates nominated, both for president and vice-president, were 
understood to be in favor of the annexation of Texas to the United States. 
Resolutions were adopted by the convention, one of which declared, " that 
our title to the whole of the territory of Oregon is clear and unquestiona- 
ble ; that no portion of the same ought to be ceded to England or any 
other power ; and that the reoccupation of Oregon and the reannexatioa 
of Texas, at the earliest practicable period, are great American measures, 
which this convention recommends to the cordial support of the democ- 
racy of the Union." Another resolution declared, " that the convention 
hold in the highest estimation and regard their illustrious fellow-citizen, 
Martin Van Buren, of New York," &c., and that they "tender to him, in 
his honorable retirement, the assurance of the deeply-seated confidence, 
affection, and respect, of the American democracy." 

The nomination of Messrs. Polk and Dallas had the effect of completely 
uniting the democratic party throughout the country, and the Texas and 
Oregon questions had a tendency to infuse renewed vigor among the 
masses attached to the party, enabling them to enter into the election con- 
test with excited hopes and prospects of success. 

At the same time when the democratic convention met at Baltimore, a 
convention of the friends of President Tyler, composed of delegates from 
various parts of the Union, principally office-holders and political adven- 
turers, assembled at that city, and placed the name of Mr. Tyler in 
nomination as a candidate for election to the presidency. The presi- 
dent accepted the nomination, but his case as a candidate being hopeless, 
he yielded, in August, to the solicitations of the friends of Polk and Dal- 
las, who were desirous to have the aid and patronage of the general gov- 
ernment in favor of the democratic candidates, and withdrew his name 
from the presidential canvass. On that occasion Mr. Tyler published an 
address in the Madisonian, the official paper at Washington, to his friends 
throughout the Union, announcing his intention and desire to withdraw 
from the position in which his friends had placed Kim. He concludes his 
address by saying : " I appeal from the vituperation of the present day to 



ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 477 

the pen of impartial history, in the full confidence that neither my motives 
nor my acts will bear the interpretation which has, for sinister purposes, 
' been placed upon them." 

After a most animated and exciting canvass, the presidential election 
took place, in the fall of 1844, and resulted in the election of the demo- 
cratic candidates, James K. Polk as president, and George M. Dallas as 
vice-president, of the United States, over the whig candidates, Clay and 
Frelinghuysen. The votes of the electoral colleges were, for Polk and 
Dallas, 170; for Clay and Frelinghuysen, 105. The popular vote was, 
for Polk, 1,335,834'; for Clay, 1,297,033 ; for Birney, the abolition can- 
didate, 64,653 ; exclusive of South Carolina, w^hich state gave its electo- 
ral vote through the legislature, that body choosing the presidential elec- 
tors. In the states of New York and Michigan, the democratic electoral 
ticket received a plurality over the whig vote, less than the amount of 
abolition votes in those states. In addition to the states which voted for 
Mr. Van Buren in 1840, giving 60 electoral votes; Mr. Polk received the 
votes of Maine, 9 ; New York, 36 ; Pennsylvania, 26 ; Georgia, 10 ; Mis- 
sissippi, 6 ; Louisiana, 6 ; Indiana, 12 ; and Michigan, 5 ; which states 
gave their electoral votes to General Harrison, in 1840. 

The second session of the twenty-eighth Congress commenced on the 
2d of December, 1844, and closed on the expiration of their term, the 3d 
of March, 1845. The most important and exciting subject of the session 
was that of the annexation of Texas. .Joint resolutions for annexing that 
republic to the United States, as one of the states of the Union, passed the 
house of representatives, on the 25th of January, 1845, by a vote of 120 to 
98 ; and on the 1st of March the same passed the senate, by a vote of 27 to 
25 ; and the same day the resolutions were approved by the president. 

Among the public acts of interest passed at this session, were the fol- 
lowing : To establish a uniform time for holding elections for electors of 
president and vice-president, in all the states in the Union ; to provide for 
the establishment of the mail between the United States and foreign coun- 
tries ; granting lands to the state of Indiana, to enable the state to extend 
and complete the Wabash and Erie canal ; to reduce the rates of postage, 
and to limit the use, and correct the abuse, of the franking privilege ; allow- 
ing drawback upon foreign merchandise exported by the interior to Mexico 
and the British North American provinces ; for the constructiBn and im- 
provement of roads in Wisconsin ; making appropriations for fortifica- 
tions ; and an act for the admission of the states of Iowa and Florida into 
the Union. Florida complied with the terms of the last act, and was, con- 
sequently, admitted into the Union ; but the people of Iowa rejected the 
terms, principally on account of the boundary defined by Congress, and, 
therefore, Iowa remained a territory. 

A bill forbidding the president to build revenue-cutters at his own dis- 
cretion, which had been vetoed by President Tyler, was again passed by 



478 ADMINISTRATION OF TYLER. 

the senate, and by the house, by more than a two-third vote (in the latter 
by 126 to 31), and thus became a law, notwithstanding the veto. A bill 
making appropriations for certain harbors and rivers, passed both houses, 
near the close of the session, but was retained by the president, and thus 
failed to become a law, in consequence of what was called a " pocket veto," 
which was the last act of Mr. Tyler's administration, as a similar act had 
been that of President Jackson's, in 1837. 

Thus ended the administration of John Tyler ; of whom it may be said, 
that he retired without the regret of either of the two great political par- 
ties of the country ; as by his course he had lost the confidence of that 
party by which he was elected, without gaining that of their political op- 
ponents. Many important matters, however, were accomplished by this 
administration, the credit of which was bestowed upon others, instead of 
the president. Thus the protective tariff act of 1842 was accomplished 
by a whig Congress, although approved by the executive ; and the settle- 
ment of the northeastern boundary question, by the treaty with Great Brit- 
ain, was accredited to the energy and skill of the secretary of state, Mr. 
Webster ; while the annexation of Texas was a measure which was 
mainly pushed to completion through the ability and exertions of another 
secretary of state, Mr. Calhoun ; and any benefits that were derived from 
it as forming political capital, were seized upon and used by the demo- 
cratic party, for the purpose of coming into power, by the election of Polk 
and Dallas. It would be unjust, however, to deny to Mr. Tyler whatever 
merit is his due from the circumstance of having used every exertion to 
carry through the Texas measure during his administration. Nor is it to 
be denied that the foreign relations of the United States were ably man- 
aged during his presidential terra, and that he generally surrounded him- 
self with able counsellors in his cabinet. 




EB^fljT.BelchftomaBa^ueiieotTpe 



(Ji^x^-j^'Z^ 



e^ O^J^^>-^ 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OP 



JAMES KNOX POLK 



James Knox Polk, the eleventli president of the United States, is the 
oldest of ten children, and was born on the second of November, 1795, in 
Mecklenburg county, North Carolina. His ancestors, whose original 
name. Pollock, has, by obvious transition, assumed its present form, emi- 
grated in the early part of the eighteenth century, from Ireland. The 
family traces their descent from Robert Polk, who was born and married 
in Ireland ; his wife, Magdalen Tusker, was the heiress of Mowning hill. 
They had six sons and two daughters ; Robert Polk, the progenitor of 
James Knox Polk, was the fifth son ; he married a Miss Gullet, and re- 
moved to America. Ezekiel Polk, the grandfather of James K. Polk, was 
one of his sons. 

The Polk family settled in Somerset county, on the eastern shore of 
Maryland, where some of their descendants still sojourn. Being the only 
democrats of note in that county, they were called the democratic family. 
The branch of the family from which the president is descended, removed 
to the neighborhood of Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, and thence to the west- 
ern frontier of North Carolina, sometime before the commencement of the 
revolutionary war. Some of the Polk family were honorably distin- 
guished in that eventful struggle. On the twentieth of May, 1775, conse- 
quently more than twelve months anterior to the declaration of independence 
of the fourth of July, 1776, the assembled inhabitants of Mecklenburg county 
publicly absolved themselves from their allegiance to the British crown, 
and issued a formal manifesto of independence, in terms of manly eloquence, 
similar to some of the expressions in the declaration of the American 
Congress adopted more than a year afterward. Colonel Thomas Polk, 
the prime mover in this act of noble daring, and one of the signers of this 
first declaration of independence, was the great uncle of the president ; 
and the family is also connected with the Alexanders, chairman and sec- 



480 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF POLK. 

retary of the meeting which adopted the declaration, as well as with Dr. 
Ephraiiii Brevard, the author of the declaration itself. 

The father of James K. Polk was a farmer of unassuming pretensions, 
but enterprising character. Thrown upon his own resources in early life, 
he became the architect of his own fortunes. He was a warm supporter 
of Mr. Jefferson, and through life a firm and undeviating democrat. In 
the autumn of 1806 he removed, with his family of ten children, from the 
homestead in North Carolina, to Tennessee, where he was one of the 
pioneers of the fertile valley of Duck river, a branch of the Cumberland, 
then a wilderness, but now the most flourishing and populous portion of 
the state. In this region the subject of this sketch resided, until his elec- 
tion to the presidency, so that he may be said, literally, to have grown 
with its growth, and strengthened with its strength. Of course, in the in- 
fancy of its settlement, the opportunities for instruction could not be great. 
Notwithstanding this disadvantage — and the still more formidable one of 
a painful affection from which, after years of suffering, he was finally re- 
lieved by a surgical operation — he acquired the elements of a good Eng- 
lish education. Apprehending that his constitution had been too much 
impaired to permit the confinement of study, his father determined, much, 
however, against the will of the son, to make him a commercial man ; and 
with this view placed him with a merchant. 

He remained a few weeks in a situation adverse to his wishes, and in- 
compatible with his taste. Finally, his earnest appeals succeeded in 
overcoiuing the resistance of his father, and in July, 1813, he was placed, 
first under the care of the Rev. Dr. Henderson, and subsequently at the 
academy of Murfreesborough, Tennessee, then under the direction of Mr. 
Samuel P. Black, justly celebrated in that region as a classical teacher. 
In the autumn of 1815 he entered the university of North Carolina, hav- 
ing, in less than two years and a half, thoroughly prepared himself to com- 
mence his collegiate course, being then in the twentieth year of his age. 

Mr. Polk's career at the university was distinguished. At each semi- 
annual examination, he bore away the first honor, and finally graduated in 
1818, with the highest distinction of his class, and with the reputation of 
being the first scholar in both the mathematics and classics. Of the for- 
mer science he was passionately fond, though equally distinguished as a 
linguist. His course at college was marked by the same assiduity and 
studious application which have since distinguished him. His ambition 
to excel was equalled by his perseverance alone ; in proof of which, it is 
said that he never missed a recitation, nor omitted the punctilious per- 
formance of any duty. Habits of close application at college are apt to be 
despised by those who pride themselves on brilliancy of mind, as if they 
were incompatible. This is a melancholy mistake. Genius has ever 
been defined the faculty of appreciation. The latter is, at least, something 
better, and more available. So carefully has Mr. Polk avoided the ped- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF POLK. 4S1 

antry of classical display, which is the false taste of our day and country, 
as almost to hide the acquisitions which distinguished his early career. 
His preference for the useful and substantial, indicated by his youthful 
passion for the mathematics, has made him select a style of elocution 
which would perhaps be deemed too plain by the admirers of flashy dec- 
lamation.* 

From the university he returned to Tennessee, with health impaired by 
application, and, in the beginning of the year 1819, commenced the study 
of the law (that profession which has furnished nine of the eleven presi- 
dents of the United States), in the office of the late Felix Grundy, for 
many years a representative and senator of Tennessee in Congress ; under 
whose auspices he was admitted to the bar, at the close of 1820. He 
commenced his professional career in the county of Maury, with great 
advantages, derived from the connexion of his family with its early set- 
tlement. His warmest friends were the sharers of his father's early pri- 
vations and difficulties, and the associates of his own youth. But his 
success was due to his personal qualities still more than to extrinsic ad- 
vantages. A republican in habits as well as in principles, depending for 
the maintenance of his dignity upon the esteem of others, and not upon 
his own assumption, his manners conciliated the general good will. The 
confidence of his friends was justified by the result. His thorough aca- 
demical education, his accurate knowledge of the law, his readiness and 
resources in debate, his unwearied application to business, segured him, 
at once, full employment, and in less than a year he was already a lead- 
ing practitioner. 

Mr. Polk continued to devote some years exclusively to the prosecution 
of his profession, with a progressive augmentation of reputation, and the 
more solid rewards by which it is accompanied. In 1823, he entered 
upon the stormy career of politics, being chosen to represent his county 
in the state legislature, by a heavy majority over the former incumbent, but 
not without formidable opposition. He was for two successive years a 
member of that body, where his ability in debate, and talent for business, 
at once gave him reputation. The early personal and political friend of 
General Jackson, he was one of those who, in the session of 1823-'24, 
called that distinguished man from his retirement, by electing him to the 
senate of the United States. 

In August, 1825, being then in his thirtieth year, Mr. Polk was chosen 
to represent his district in Congress, and took his seat in the national 
councils in December following. He brought with him those fundamen- 
tal principles to which he has adhered through all the mutations of party. 
From his early youth he was a democratic republican of the strictest sect. 
He has ever regarded the constitution of the United States as an instru- 
ment of specific and limited powers, and he was found in opposition to 

* For a part of this sketch we are indebted to the Democratic Review of May, 1S38. 
31 



482 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF FOLK. 

every measure that aimed to consolidate federal power, or to detract from 
the dignity and legitimate functions of the state governments. He signal- 
ized his hostility to the doctrines of those vi^ho held to a more liberal con- 
struction of the constitution, in all their modes. He always refused his 
assent to the appropriation of money by the federal government for what 
he deemed the unconstitutional purpose of constructing works of internal 
improvement within the states. He took ground early against the con- 
stitutionality as well as expediency of a national bank ; and in August, 1829, 
consequently several months before the appearance of General Jackson's 
first message, announced then his opinions in a published letter to his 
constituents. He has ever been opposed to a tariff for protection, and was, 
at all times, the strenuous advocate of a reduction of the revenue to the 
economical wants of the government. Entertaining these opinions, and 
entering Congress, as he did, at the first session after the election of John 
Quincy Adams to the presidency, he promptly took his stand against the 
doctrines developed in the message of that chief magistrate, and was, 
during the continuance of his administration, resolutely opposed to its 
leading measures. 

When Mr. Polk entered Congress, he was, with one or two exceptions, 
the junior member of that body. His first speech was in favor of a propo- 
sition to amend the constitution in such manner as to prevent the choice 
of president of the United States from devolving on Congress in any event. 
This speech at once attracted public attention by the force of its reason- 
ing, the copiousness of its research, and the spirit of indignation, with 
reference to the then recent election by Congress, by which it was ani- 
mated. At the same session the subject of the Panama mission was 
brought before Congress, and the project was opposed by Mr. Polk, who 
strenuously protested against the doctrine of the friends of the administra- 
tion, that as the president and senate are the treaty-making power, the 
house of representatives can not deliberate upon, nor refuse the appropri- 
ations necessary to carry them into effect. The views of Mr. Polk he 
embodied in a series of resolutions, which reproduced in a tangible shape, 
the doctrines, on this question, of the republican party of 1798. The first 
of these resolutions declares, " that it is the constitutional right and duty 
of the house of representatives, when called upon for appropriations to 
defray the expenses of foreign missions, to deliberate on the expediency 
of such missions, and to determine and act thereon, as in their judgment 
may seem most conducive to the public good." 

From this time Mr. Polk's history became inseparably interwoven with 
that of the house. He was prominently connected with every important 
question, and upon every one took the boldest democratic ground. He 
continued to oppose the administration of Mr. Adams until its termination, 
and during the whole period of General Jackson's terms he was one of 
its leading supporters, and at times, and on certain questions of paramount 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF POLK. 483 

importance its chief reliance. In December, 1827, Mr. Polk was placed 
on the committee of foreign affairs, and sometime after, as chairman of a 
select committee, he made a report on the surplus revenue, denying the 
constitutional power of Congress to collect from the people, for distribu- 
tion, a surplus beyond the wants of the government, and maintaining that 
the revenue should be reduced to the exigencies of the public service. In 
1830, he defended the act of General Jackson in placing his veto on the 
Maysville road bill, and thus checking the system of internal improvement 
by the general government, which had been entered upon by Congress. 

In December, 1832, Mr. Polk was transferred to the committee of 
ways and means, and at that session presented the report of the minoritj'' 
of that cdmmittee, wilh regard to certain charges against the United States 
bank ; this minority report presenting conclusions utterly adverse to the 
institution which had been the subject of inquiry. 

The course of Mr. Polk arrayed against him the friends of the bank, and 
they held a meeting at Nashville to denounce his report. His re-election 
to Congress was opposed, but, after a violent contest, Mr. Polk was re-elected 
by a majority of more than three thousand. In September, 1833, Presi- 
dent Jackson determined upon the removal of the public deposites from 
the bank of the United States. This measure, which caused great ex- 
citement throughout the country, was carried into effect in October fol- 
lowing, and at the subsequent session of Congress it was the leading sub- 
ject of discussion. In the senate the president was censured for the 
measure, but he was sustained in the house of representatives. On this 
occasion Mr. Polk, as chairman of the committee of ways and means, vin- 
dicated the president's measure, and by his coolness, promptitude, and 
skill, carried through the resolutions of the committee relating to the bank 
and the deposites, and sustaining the administration, after which the cause 
of the bank was abandoned in Congress. 

Toward the close of the memorable session of 1834, Mr. Speaker Ste- 
venson resigned the chair, as well as his seat in the house. The majority 
of the democratic party preferred Mr. Polk as his successor, but in conse- 
quence of a division in its ranks, the opposition united with the democratic 
friends of John Bell, of Tennessee, and thereby succeeded in electing that 
gentleman, then a professed friend, but since a decided opponent, of tho 
president and his measures. Mr. Polk's defeat produced no change in 
his course. He remained faithful to his party, and assiduous in the per- 
formance of his arduous duties. 

In December, 1835, Mr. Polk was elected speaker of the house of rep- 
resentatives, and again chosen to that station in 1837, at the extra session 
held in the first year of Mr. Van Buren's administration. The duties of 
speaker were discharged by him during five sessions, with ability, at a 
time when party feelings ran high in the house, and in the beginning un- 
usual difficulties were throv/n in his way by the animosity of his political 



4S4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF POLK. 

opponents. During the first session in which he presided, more appeals 
were taken from his decision than had occurred in the whole period since 
the origin of the •government ; but he was uniformly sustained by the 
house, including many of his political adversaries. Notwithstanding the 
violence with which he had been assailed, Congress passed, at the close 
of the session, in March, 1837, a unatiimous vote of thanks to its presi- 
ding officer, from whom it separated with the kindest feelings. In the 
twenty-fifth Congress, over which he presided as speaker at three ses- 
sions, commencing in September, 1837, and ending in March, 1839, par- 
ties were more nearly balanced (Mr. Polk's majority as speaker being only 
eight), and the most exciting questions were agitated during the whole 
period. At the close of the term, Mr. Elmore, of South Carolina, moved 
" that the thanks of the house be presented to the Hon. James K. Polk, 
for the able, impartial, and dignified manner in which he has presided 
over its deliberations, and performed the arduous and important duties of 
the chair." On this resolution, a long and excited debate arose, which 
was terminated by the previous question ; when the resolution was 
adopted by 94 in the affirmative to 57 in the negative. But few of the 
members of the opposition concurred in the vote of approval. The 
speaker, in adjourning the house, made a reply of more than ordinary length, 
and showing, on his part, deep feeling. Among other remarks, he said : 
" When I look back to the period when I first took my seat in this house, 
and then look around me for those who were at that time my associates here, 
1 find but few, very few, remaining. But five members who were here with 
me fourteen years ago, continue to be members of this body. My service 
here has been constant and laborious. I can perhaps say what but few 
others, if any, can, that I have not failed to attend the daily sittings of this 
house a single day since I have been a member of it, save on a single oc- 
casion, Avhen prevented for a short time by indisposition. In my inter- 
course with the members of this body, when I occupied a place upon the 
floor, though occasionally engaged in debates upon interesting public ques- 
tions, and of an exciting character, it is a source of unmingled gratifica- 
tion to me to recur to the fact, that on no occasion was there the slightest 
personal or unpleasant collision with any of its members. Maintaining, 
and at all times expressing, my own opinions firmly, the same right was 
fully conceded to others. For four years past, the station I have occupied, 
and a sense of propriety, in the divided and unusually-excited state of pub- 
lic opinion and feeling, which has existed both in this house and the 
country, have precluded me- from participating in your debates. Other 
duties were assigned me. 

" The high office of speaker, to which it has been twice the pleasure 
of this house to elevate me, has been at all times one of labor and high 
responsibility. It has been made my duty to ^iecide more questions of 
parliamentary law and order, many of them of a complex and difficult 



BIOGRArniCAL SKETCH OF POLK. 485 

character, arising often in the midst of high excitement, in the course of 
our proceedings, than had been decided, it is believed, by all my prede- 
cessors, from the foundation of the government. This house has uni- 
formly sustained me, vidthout distinction of the political parties of which 
it has been composed. I return them my thanks for their constant support 
in the discharge of the duties I have had to perform. 

" But, gentlemen, my acknowledgments are especially due to the major- 
ity of this house, for the high and flattering evidence they have given me 
of their approbation of my conduct as the presiding officer of the house, 
by the resolution you have been pleased to pass. I regard it as of infi- 
nitely more value than if it had been the common, matter-of-course, and 
customary resolution which, in the courtesy usually prevailing between 
th(j presiding officer and the members of any deliberative assembly, is 
always passed, at the close of their deliberations. I regard this as the 
highest and most valued testimonial I have ever received from this house, 
because I know that the circumstances under which it has passed, have 
made it matter of substance, and not of mere form. I shall bear it in 
grateful remembrance to the latest hour of my life. 

" I trust this high office may in future times be filled, as doubtless it 
will be, by abler men. It can not, I know, be filled by any one who will 
devote himself with more zeal and untiring industry to do his whole duty, 
than I have done." 

Few public men have pursued a firmer or more consistent course than 
Mr. Polk, in adhering to the democratic party, in every vicissitude. In 
1835, when all of his colleagues of the Tennessee delegation, in the 
house of representatives, determined to support Judge White, .of that 
state, as the successor to General Jackson, for the presidency, he incurred 
the hazard of losing his popularity throughout the state, by avowing his 
unalterable purpose not to separate from the great body of the democratic 
party, in the presidential election. He therefore became identified with 
the friends of Mr. Van Buren, in Tennessee, in 1836, when Judge White 
received the vote of the state by a popular majority of over nine thousand. 

After a service of fourteen years in Congress, Mr. Polk in 1839 de- 
clined a re-election from the district which had so long sustained him. 
He was then taken up by the friends of the administration in Ten- 
nessee, as a candidate for governor, to oppose Newton Cannon, who was 
then governor of the state, and supported by the Whig party for re-elec- 
tion. After an animated canvass, during which Mr. Polk visited the dif- 
ferent counties of that extensive state, and addressed the people on the 
political topics of the day, the election took place in August, 1839, and 
resulted in a majority for Mr. Polk, of more than 2,500 over Governor 
Cannon. At the ensuing session of the legislature. Governor Polk was 
nominated by that body for vice-president of the United States, to be 
placed on the ticket with Mr. Van Buren. He was afterward nominated 



486 BIOGRAPHICAL sl^ETCH OF POLK. 

for the same office in several other states, but at the election of 1840 he 
received one electoral vote only for vice-president, which was given by 
one of the electors in Virginia. 

Havins served as governor of Tennessee for the constitutional term of 
tM'o years, Mr. Polk was a candidate for re-election in August, 1841. His 
prospect was unpromising, as the state in 1840 showed a Whig majority 
of twelve thousand at the presidential election. The result was the de- 
feat of Mr. Polk, and the election of James C. Jones, the whig candidate, 
as governor, by a majority of 3,224. Mr. Polk therefore retired from 
public life, at the expiration of his executive term. Two years after, in 
1S43, he vvas again a candidate for the executive chair, in opposition to 
Governor Jones, but he was the second time defeated, and the whig can- 
didate re-elected, by a majority of 3,833. 

From October, 1841, until his elevation to the highest office in the 
Union, Mr. Polk remained in private life, not, however, an inert spectator 
of the wild and troubled drama of politics. Happy in the confidence of 
his immediate neighbors, and his numerous political friends throughout the 
state, in the affections of a charming family, and in the ardent friendship 
of Andrew Jackson; he had determined to withdraw himself from the anx- 
ieties and labors of public life. But the voice of the democracy of Ten- 
nessee forbade the gratification of his wishes ; as we have seen, he 
Avas repeatedly summoned to stand forward as its representative for gov- 
ernor of the state, and he yielded to the summons, whatever might have 
been the prospects of success. 

Mr. Polk did not conceal his opinions on political subjects, when called 
upon by his fellow-citizens to express them. Those who differed from 
him had no difficulty in ascertaining the fact of the difference. A proof 
of this was found in the circumstance which developed his opinions on 
the subject of Texas. The citizens of Cincinnati had, early in 1844, ex- 
pressed their " settled opposition" to the annexation of that republic to the 
United States, and invited him to announce his concurrence in their judg- 
ment. In his reply, he said : " Let Texas be re-annexed, and the author- 
ity and laws of the United States be established and maintained within 
her limits, as also in the Oregon territory, and let the fixed policy of our 
government be, not to permit Great Britain to plant a colony or hold do- 
minion over any portion of the people or territory of either. These are 
my opinions ; and without deeming it necessary to extend this letter, by 
assigning the many reasons which influence me in the conclusions to which 
I come, I regret to be compelled to differ so widely from the views ex- 
pressed by yourselves, and the meeting of citizens of Cincinnati, whom 
you represent." 

On the 29th of May, 1844, Mr. Polk received the nomination of the 
democratic national convention, assembled at Baltimore, for president of 
the United States. To this hitrh office he was elected in the fall of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF POLK. 487 

same year, by tlie people of the United States, and his majority over Mr. 
Clay, the Whig candidate, as expressed through the electoral colleges, in 
December, 1844, was 65. The votes of the presidential electors were — 
for James K. Polk 170, for Henry Clay 105. George M. Dallas was 
elected vice-president by the same majority, over Theodore Frelinghuy- 
sen. The votes were counted in the house of representatives, on the 10th 
of February, 1845. The president elect, having repaired to the seat of 
government, informed the joint committee of Congress, who waited on 
him, that, " in signifying his acceptance of the office to which he had been 
chosen by the people, he expressed his deep sense of gratitude to them, 
for the confidence which they had reposed in him, and requested the com- 
mittee to convey to their respective houses of Congress, assurances, that, 
in executing the responsible duties which would devolve upon him, it 
would be his anxious desire to maintain the honor and promote the 
welfare of the country." 

In person, President Polk is of middle stature, with a full angular brow, 
and a quick, penetrating eye. The expression of his countenance is 
grave, but its serious cast is often relieved by a peculiarly pleasant smile, 
indicative of the amenity of his disposition. The amiable character of 
his private life, which has ever been upright and pure, secures to him the 
esteem and friendship of all who have the advantage of his acquaintance. 
He married a lady of Tennessee, who is a member of the presbyterian 
church, and well qualified, by her virtues and accomplishments, equally 
to adorn the circles of private life, or the station to which she has been 
called. They have no children. 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 



On the fourth of March, 1845, James K. Polk was inaugurated as pres- 
ident of the United States. A concourse of people seldom congregated 
in the city of Washington were present to witness the ceremony. The 
weather proved unfavorable. The morning was lowering ; and before the 
procession reached the capitol it commenced raining, and continued wet 
during the day, marring the enjoyments, and defeating the expectations of 
many, also much of the intended exhibition and display. 

The ceremony at the capitol was imposing. The occasion was one of 
those striking displays of our republican system which he must be a stoic 
indeed that could contemplate with indifference. The flagstaffs of the 
whigs, as well as those of their triumphant rivals, were decorated, as an 
acknowledgment that the chief of the nation was there, and must be rec- 
ognised. 

The inaugural procession moved about eleven o'clock, A. M., from the 
quarters of the president elect, at Coleman's hotel, to the capitol, under the 
direction of General M'Calla and his aids. In the procession were the 
military of Washington, officers and soldiers of the revolution, the clergy, 
president elect and his predecessor, in an open carriage. President Tyler's 
cabinet, justices of the supreme court, diplomatic corps, members and ex- 
members of Congress, members of the Baltimore democratic national con- 
vention of 1844, officers of the army and navy, &c., democratic associa- 
tions and clubs of the District of Columbia, and others from a distance, 
among whom was a detachment of the Empire club of the city of New 
York, citizens of states and territories, citizens of. the District of Colum- 
bia, &c. 

The senate convened at eleven o'clock, A. M. The oath being admin- 
istered to Hon. George M. Dallas, vice-president elect, he delivered a 
brief address to the senators on taking his seat, after which the new sen- 
ators were qualified. The justices of the supreme court, in gowns, and 
the diplomatic corps, twenty-nine in number, entered and took their seats ; 
also General Scott, and other officers of the army and navy. About noon, 
the president elect, Mr. Polk, attended by President Tyler and Senator 



490 ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 

Woodbury, entered the senate-chamber, when a procession was formed 
to the platform on the east front of the capitol, from which the p'resident 
delivered his inaugural address. Chief-Justice Taney, then administered 
to the president the oath of office, after which the president, quitting the 
capitol, drove rapidly, by an indirect route, to the president's house, where 
he received, during the afternoon, the congratulations of his fellow-citi- 
zens. In the evening he and his lady attended the two inauguration balls 
which were given in the city. 

The senate being in session, the president, on the fifth of March, made 
the following nominations for members of the cabinet, which were con- 
firmed : James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, secretary of state ; Robert J. 
Walker, of Mississippi, secretary of the treasury ; William L. Marcy, of 
New York, secretary of war ; George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, secre- 
tary of the navy ; Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, postmaster-general ; John 
Y. Mason, of Virginia, attorney-general. 

The tone of the inaugural address of Mr. Polk, on the subjects of the 
annexation of Texas to the territory of the United States, and of the oc- 
cupation of the whole of Oregon, both of which questions had been adopted 
as watchwords by the democratic party, which had been triumphant at the 
recent presidential election, showed that the new administration entered 
upon its duties at a critical period, in the foreign relations of the United 
States. On the one hand, the annexation of Texas threatened to involve 
the nation in hostilities with Mexico, as the constituted authorities of that 
republic, had declared that they should view the admission of Texas into 
the Union of the North American republic of states, as an act of hostil- 
ity toward Mexico ; while, on the other hand, the claims of Great Britain 
to a large proportion of the Oregon territory, were not to be disregarded, 
without the danger of a rupture between that powerful kingdom and the 
United States. 

With regard to the Texas question, resolutions for annexing that repub- 
lic to the United States, had passed both houses of Congress (as we have 
stated on page 1427), and were approved by President Tyler, on the first 
of March, 1845, being one of the last acts of his administration. These res- 
olutions of annexation had been objected to by Messrs. Benton and Bag- 
by, senators of the democratic party, on the ground of its being indispen- 
sable to the accomplishment of annexation, that a treaty must be made 
with the government of Texas, as a foreign power, and that the treaty- 
making power, by the constitution, is vested in the president and senate, 
and not in Congress. At the suggestion of those two senators, an amend- 
ment was added to the resolutions from the house of representatives, giv- 
ing a discretion to the president to adopt the latter method, of proceeding 
by treaty, if he thought proper, instead of the method of direct annexation 
contemplated by the resolutions from the house. It was understood that 
without that modification, the resolutions which passed the senate by a 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 491 

majority of two votes, would not have received the votes of those two sen- 
ators, and consequently, the measure of annexation would not have been 
carried. How far the constitutional objections of senators Benton and 
Bagby were obviated by the amendment, seems to have depended entirely 
upon their faith in the president's selecting the course they deemed to be 
in accordance with the constitution. 

It was believed by some of the friends of the president elect, that he 
would immediately proceed to negotiate a treaty with Texas, to consum- 
mate the act of annexation, and which on being submitted to the senate 
would be approved, and thus the constitutional objections of many would 
be obviated. But the action of President Tyler, in the short space of 
time allowed him after the passage of the Texas resolutions before reti- 
ring from the presidency, anticipated the necessity of any decision on the 
part of President Polk, and hurried the annexation of Texas to the Uni- 
ted States without the formality of a treaty. On the third of March, the 
last day of his term of office. President Tyler despatched a messenger to 
deliver to Mr. Donelson, charge d'affaires to Texas, the joint resolutions 
of Congress for the admission of Texas into the Union, instructing the 
charge to communicate to the Texan government, information, that he, as 
president of the United States, had made his election as to the alternative 
contained in the resolutions of Congress, looking to the admission of Texas 
into the Union — namely, that he had chosen the alternative of immediate 
annexation, as proposed by the original resolutions, instead of negotiating 
by treaty, as proposed by the amendment. The course of Mr. Tyler, in 
thus forestalling the action of the new president, was much censured by 
many of the friends of the incoming administration. The leading demo- 
cratic journal at Washington, the Globe, remarked on this subject, that 
" to the chief magistrate chosen by the people with an especial eye to this 
question, alone, it is notorious the discretion confided in the act of Congress 
was intended to apply. It is clear that as Mr. Tyler began his presiden- 
tial career in virtue of an accident, that he meant to take the benefit of the 
whole chapter of accidents, to blend himself with results having their ori- 
gin in the counsels of Generals Jackson and Houston, and which his in- 
auspicious management has so far marred in their progress." 

The resolutions of Congress annexing Texas to the United States, and 
admitting that republic into the Union, were submitted by the president of 
Texas to a convention of delegates, called for the purpose of forming a 
state constitution, and were assented to by that body in behalf of the peo- 
ple of Texas, on the fourth of July, 1845, and thus Texas became part of 
the United States. 

The convention of Texas having authorized and requested the president 
of the United States to occupy and establish posts without delay upon the 
frontier and exposed positions of that republic, and to introduce such forces 
as were deemed necessary for the defence of the territory and people of 



492 ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 

Texas, an " army of occupation" was despatched from the United States, 
under the command of General Taylor, and on the twenty-sixth of July, 
a body of United States troops landed from steam-vessels at Aransas bay, 
on which day the American flag was first planted in Texas, by authority, 
upon the south end of St. Joseph's island. This movement, with the 
measures of annexation agreed upon by the United States and Texas, were 
looked upon by the Mexican government as acts of hostility toward Mex- 
ico, and preparations were made by the republic for an appeal to arms. 

In addition to the difliculties arising from the Texas question, there were 
other grounds of dispute between the United States and Mexico. In the 
wars between Spain and Mexico, caused by the attempts of the mother- 
country to resubjugate her colonies in America, as well as in the civil 
wars which occasionally convulsed the Mexican nation, the authorities of 
the latter power resorted to the most illegal measures to replenish their 
coffers. The proximity of the United States, and the extent of their com- 
merce in the gulf, exposed them to the depredations of a government gen- 
erally controlled by military chieftains, and thus were the pacific relations 
between the two republics often interrupted. Vessels under the Ameri- 
can flag were plundered, and the property of American merchants confis- 
cated. Blockades were attempted to be enforced by one contending par- 
ty against the other, during the civil wars which distracted the republic of 
Mexico, and consequently the commerce of other nations was seriously 
injured by seizures under regulations and enactments which often appeared 
to have been unjustly and arbitrarily established. 

The government of the United States remonstrated against the illegal 
seizures of the property of their citizens. Promises of redress were 
postponed or evaded, until at length a treaty of amity, commerce, and nav- 
igation, was concluded between the two republics, in April, 1831. But 
this did not terminate the aggressions of Mexico upon American com- 
merce, and further remonstrances on the part of the United States, and 
delay on the part of Mexico, took place, until a new negotiation was opened 
in 1839, and a commissioner appointed for the adjustment of claims of 
American citizens, which commissioners met in 1840. The amount of 
claims in the aggregate was over six millions of dollars, over two millions 
of which were admitted, and the remaining four millions were left undeci- 
ded, when the commission expired in February, 1842. 

By another convention, concluded in January, 1843, the sum acknowl- 
edged and awarded to the American claimants, was admitted, by the Mex- 
ican government, and for the accommodation of the latter, the payment 
was divided into twenty instalments, three of which, with the interest due 
on the thirtieth of April, 1839, were paid, but the remaining instalments, 
commencing with that payable in April, 1844, were still due by Mexico 
on the breaking out of hostilities. The convention of January, 1843, also 
made provision for another convention for the settlement of the remaining 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 493 

claims ; in accordance with whicli, a third convention was signed at the 
city of Mexico, on the twentieth of November, 1843. This convention 
was ratified by the senate of the United States, with two amendments, 
which were considered just and reasonable. Although the subject was 
repeatedly urged upon the consideration of the Mexican government, she 
did not decide whether she would or would not accede to those amend- 
ments.* 

On the sixth of March, 1845, General Almonte, the Mexican minister 
to the United States, protested against the resolutions of Congress, pro- 
viding for the annexation of Texas, and demanded his passports, which 
were granted ; and on the 2d of April, the American minister in Mexico 
was refused all intercourse with that government, upon the ground that the 
government of Mexico could not continue diplomatic relations with the 
United States, upon the presumption that such relations were reconcilable 
with the law of annexation. Herrera, the Mexican president, issued a 
proclamation on the 4th of June, 1845, declaring that the annexation of 
Texas in nowise destroyed the rights of Mexico, and that she would main- 
tain them by force of arms. Two decrees of the Mexican Congress 
were affixed to this proclamation, providing for calling out all the armed 
forces of the nation. 

Under these circumstances the diplomatic intercourse between the two 
republics was interrupted, and this state of things existed from the spring 
of 1845, until the commencement of actual hostilities in 1846. 

The settlement of the northwestern boundary, between the United 
Slates and the territories of Great Britain, comprehending the claims of 
both powers to the Oregon territory, had long been a subject of negotia- 
tion. Three several unsuccessful attempts had been made to settle the 
questions in dispute between the two countries, by negotiation upon the 
principle of compromise. These negotiations took place at London, in 
the years 1818, 1824, and 1826 ; the first two under the administration 
of Mr. Monroe, and the last under that of Mr. Adams. By the conven- 
tion of October, 1818, a system of joint occupancy of the Oregon terri- 
tory, by American and British subjects was agreed upon, and the negotia- 
tion of 1826, resulted in the convention of August, 1827, by which it was 
agreed to continue the joint occupation for an indefinite period, and that 
it should be competent for either of the contracting parties, after the 20th 
of October, 1828, on giving due notice of twelve months to the other con- 
tracting party, to annul and abrogate the agreement of joint occupation. 

Thus the Oregon question stood when President Polk came into power. 
Although, as he had declared previously to his election, he considered the 
American title good to the whole of Oregon, and that the British claims 
could not be maintained to any portion of that territory, he deemed it his 
duty to renew the propositions of compromise which had been made by 

* Jenkins's History of the War with Mexico. 



494 ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 

his predecessors, to adjust the question on the parallel of forty-nine de- 
grees of north latitude. A proposition was accordingly made to that effect, 
on the part of the United States, by Mr. Buchanan, the secretary of state, 
to Mr. Pakenham, the British plenipotentiary at Washington, and rejected 
by the latter, who after a correspondence of some length, suffered the ne- 
gotiation on his part to drop, without submitting any other proposition. 
The president thereupon directed the proposition of compromise which 
had been made and rejected to be withdrawn, and the title of the United 
States to the whole of the territory of Oregon asserted. 

Mr. Everett, the American minister at the court of Great Britain hav- 
ing been recalled, Louis M'Lane was, in June, 1845, appointed by Pres- 
ident Polk, embassador to that court, to succeed the former gentleman, and 
immediately embarked for London, where he arrived on the 1st of Au- 
gust, 1845. Mr. M'Lane had served in the same capacity, in 1830, during 
the administration of General Jackson. 

The first session of the twenty-ninth Congress, commenced on the 1st 
of December, 1845, and continued until the 10th of x\ugusl, 1846. The 
administration was sustained by a majority in both houses, the democratic 
party having been triumphant in a inajority of the congressional districts, 
and succeeded in changing in their favor the political character of the sen- 
ate. In the house of representatives the strength of parties was exhibit- 
ed in the choice of speaker. John M. Davis of Indiana, the democratic 
candidate, was elected, receiving one hundred and twenty votes, against 
seventy-two, for Samuel F. Vinton, of Ohio (whig), and nineteen for other 
persons. 

The principal recommendations of the president, in his first annual mes- 
sage to Congress were, a revision of the tariff of duties on imports, with 
a view to the reduction of the rates of duty, and a consequent withdrawal 
of the amount of protection to domestic industry, afforded by the tariff of 
1842 ; and the establishment of an independent treasury system, similar 
to that which had been enacted under the administration of Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, and repealed during that of Tyler. The president also recommended 
the passage of a resolution giving notice of the termination after one year 
of the agreement for the joint occupation of Oregon territory. These 
several measures of the new administration were adopted by Congress. 
A new tariff of duties, having in view the interests of the public revenue, 
and only incidentally that of protection, the bill being based on a plan 
drawn up by the secretary of the treasury, Mr. Walker, was enacted, af- 
ter a protracted discussion, by a vote of one hundred and fourteen to nine- 
ty-four in the house, and by twenty-eight to twenty-seven in the senate. 
On the question of discharging a committee to whom the bill was referred 
for amendment, the senate was equally divided, when Mr. Dallas, the vice- 
president, gave the casting vote in the affirmative, and the bill was subse- 
quently passed, as above stated, to take effect on the 1st of December, 



ADMINISTi.ATION OF POLK. 495 

1846. A warehouse bill was also passed at this session, authorizing the 
warehousing in public stores of imported articles subject to duty for a 
limited period, without payment of duties until wanted for home consump- 
tion or exportation. The tariff and warehouse acts gave great dissatis- 
faction to the manufacturing interests, particularly in Pennsylvania, and 
other middle states, where the large iron and other establishments, most 
affected by the reduction of duties and the substitution of advalorem rates 
of duty instead of specific duties, are situated. 

The difficulties with Mexico having assumed a hostile character, 
and rencontres between the American and Mexican troops on the Rio 
Grande having taken place, an act was passed by Congress, on the 13th 
of May, 1846, declaring, that "by the act of the republic of Mexico, a 
state of war exists between that government and the United States," and 
placing the militia, naval, and military forces of the United States, at the 
disposal of the president to enable him to prosecute the war to a speedy 
and successful termination. The whig members in order to secure una- 
nimity, proposed to strike out the preamble of the bill, but the motion was 
refused by the friends of the administration, and the bill with the pream- 
ble passed the house, one hundred and forty-two to fourteen, and the sen- 
ate by a vote of forty to two. On the same day the president issued his 
proclamation, under the provisions of the act. 

The declaration of war, was of course, followed by enactments for car- 
rying it on with vigor. Whatever the president asked for from Congress, 
was promptly voted, and with uncommon unanimity. The army proper 
was authorized to be augmented to nearly double its usual force. The 
navy was placed upon a war establishment and considerably enlarged. A 
volunteer force of fifty thousand men was authorized. Loans and treasury- 
notes to the amount of ten or twelve millions were authorized. Appropri- 
ations of ten millions in one sura, and in another of twelve millions, and 
various amounts in other bills, were granted within the space of a few 
weeks. 

The Smithsonian Institution was established by enactment at this ses- 
sion, to be located at Washington, and sustained by funds bequeathed to 
the United States, by Mr. Smithson an English gentlem^an, for the pur- 
poses of literature, science, and education. 

Acts, under which senators and representatives from Texas took their 
seats in Congress, were passed, also preliminary acts providing for the 
admission into the Union of the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. 

Besides the bills enacted, the two houses passed and sent to the presi- 
dent for his signature, a bill for improving rivers and harbors, and a bill 
granting payment to American citizens for French spoliations on Ameri- 
can commerce, which had been settled by treaty between France and the 
United States. Both of these bills the president returned with his veto, 
and they were lost. 



49G 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 



A resolution for terminating the joint occupation of Oregon by the Uni- 
ted States and Great Britain, passed both houses. 

Near the close of the session of this Congress, a bill being before the 
house, authorizing the president to use the sum of three millions of dol- 
lars if he deemed expedient, in negotiating a treaty of peace with Mex- 
ico, Mr. Wilmot, a representative from Pennsylvania, friendly to the ad- 
ministration, moved to add thereto a proviso, in the words following : "That 
there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, in any territory on 
the continent of America, which shall hereafter be acquired by, or annexed 
to, the United States by virtue of this appropriation, or in any. other man- 
ner whatsoever, except for crimes whereof the party shall have been duly 
convicted : Provided always, That any person escaping to such territory, 
from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed, in any one of the United 
States, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed out of said 
territory to the person claiming his or her labor or service." 

This proviso was adopted with little discussion, but not without calling 
forth much feeling, by the house, nearly all the members from the free 
states supporting, while those from the slaveholding states opposed it. The 
bill thus amended was on the last day of the session sent to the senate, 
and was promptly met by Mr. D. H. Lewis of Alabama, with a motion to 
strike out the proviso. Mr. Davis of Massachusetts rose in opposition to 
this motion, and was speaking against it, when word was brought that the 
house had adjourned — the hour of adjournment, noon, having been struck 
by the clock in the house, though not yet reached by the senate's clock. 
The bill therefore failed for the session. 

The controversy with Great Britain, respecting the northwestern bound- 
ary and the Oregon territory, was settled by a treaty negotiated, June 15, 
1846, at Washington, by Mr. Buchanan, on the part of the United States, 
and Mr. Pakenham, on the part of Great Britain. The basis of this treaty 
was a settlement of the boundary line on the forty-ninth degree of north 
latitude. The proposition was made by the British government, through 
Mr. M'Lane, American minister at London, and was submitted as soon as 
received by the president to the senate, asking their advice respecting the 
expediency of accepting the stipulations, and accompanying this applica- 
tion with a declaration that his own opinions on the Oregon question re- 
mained unchanged. The advice of the senate was given to the president, 
to negotiate with the British government, and he therefore caused the pro- 
jet to pass through the usual forms of negotiation, when, after discussion, 
it was duly ratified by the senate in June, 1846. By this treaty the last 
remaining subject of controversy between the United States and Great 
Britain was removed, and the relations of the two countries were thus 
placed on the most firm and amicable footing. 

During the first session of the twenty-ninth Congress, the affairs of the 
United States with Mexico, assumed a decidedly hostile character, as 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 497 

already stated. In the month of March, 1846, the largest part of the reg- 
ular army of the United States, having been previously concentrated at 
Corpus Christi, under the command of Gen. Taylor, for the protection of 
Texas ; that officer was ordered by the war department to move forward 
to the left bank of the Rio Grande. About the last of March, the army 
arrived at the latter point, and selected a position for the army opposite to 
Matamoras, at the same time establishing a dep6t of supplies at Point 
Isabel, about thirty miles in his rear, and near the coast. 

The three Mexican generals commanding the troops on the Rio Grande, 
Meja, Ampudia, and Arista, declared that the advance of Gen. Taylor and 
his army was a hostile movement. The American government claimed 
that the territory of Texas extended to the Rio Grande, while the Mexi- 
cans insisted that the river Nueces was the true boundary of Texas. On 
the 24th of April, the Mexican general Arista informed General Taylor 
that " he considered hostilities commenced and should prosecute them." 
On the same day a detachment of American dragoons sent on the left 
bank of the river to observe the movement of the Mexican forces, became 
engaged .with a large body of these troops, and after a short affair, in 
which some sixteen were killed and wounded, the American detachment 
was compelled to surrender. 

After this occurrence. General Taylor, availing himself of the authority 
vested in him by the president and the war department, called on the gov- 
ernors of Texas and Louisiana, for four regiments of volunteers from each 
state, to be sent forward with the least practicable delay. On the 8ih of 
May, General Taylor being on his return from Point Isabel to the Rio 
Grande, with his army, encountered the Mexicans in considerable force 
at Palo Alto, where an action ensued, and the Mexicans were defeated. 
On the next day the hostile forces again met seven miles in advance, at 
Resaca de la Palma, when the Americans were again victorious, and the 
Mexicans retreated with great loss, across the Rio Grande. During Gen. 
Taylor's absence, Fort Brown opposite Matamoras, was bombarded by 
the Mexican batteries from the 4th to the 9th of May. 

As soon as it became known at Washington, that hostilities had com- 
menced, by the affair of the 24th of April, Congress recognised the ex- 
istence of a state of war between the United States and the republic of 
Mexico, and on the 13th of May authorized the president to accept the 
services of volunteers, not to exceed fiftj'- thousand. Under this act, re- 
quisitions were immediately made upon the governors of eleven of the 
southern and western states for a volunteer force, amounting to twenty- 
three thousand effective men. This call was promptly responded to, much 
the larger portion of the force being designed to co-operate with the reg- 
ular army under General Taylor on the Rio Grande. After establishing 
his base of operations on that river for several hundred miles, Gen. Tay- 
lor, who, on the 1 8th of May, had taken military possession of the city of 
32 



498 ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 

Matamoras, moved into the enemy's country, in the direction of Monterey, 
in the department of New Leon. Another portion of the vohmteers was 
concentrated under General Wool, at San Antonio de Bexar, for a move- 
ment upon Chihuahua ; and the volunteers from the state of Missouri as- 
sembled at Fort Leavenworth, to compose, with a few hundred regular 
troops, an expedition to Santa Fe, in New Mexico, under Gen. Kearney. 

The army under General Taylor arrived before Monterey, on the 19th 
of September, 1846, and commenced the attack on that strongly-fortified 
city, on the 21st, the battle continuing through that and the two succes- 
sive days. The Americans attacked the enemy in his fortified position, 
captured his batteries, and various fortresses, when terms of capitulation, 
"were solicited by the Mexican general, and liberal terms were granted by 
the American commander. 

The advanced column under General Wool, destined for Chihuahua, 
commenced its march from San Antonio de Bexar, on the 29th of Septem- 
ber, and soon after penetrated the department of Coaliuila, to Monclova, 
the ancient capital of the province, which town the American army entered 
on the 29th of October, being favorably received by the inhabitants. Gen. 
Wool with his army afterward formed a junction with the forces under 
General Taylor at Saltillo. 

General Kearney, with the force under his command, moved from Fort 
Leavenworth upon Santa Fe, where he arrived, afier a march of eight 
hundred and seventy-three miles, on the 18th of August, 1846, and took 
military possession of New Mexico without resistance. Agreeably to his 
instructions. General Kearney then established a temporary civil govern- 
ment in New Mexico, and departed with a portion of his forces for Cali- 
fornia. On his route thither he met an express sent by Commodore Stock- 
ton, and Captain (afterward Lieutenant-Colonel) Fremont, who reported 
that they were already in possession of the Californias. On receiving 
this intelligence. General Kearney sent back part of his troops, and with 
about one hundred dragoons continued his march for California, where he 
arrived in the month of December, 1847. After various actions and skir- 
mishes with the enemy, the American forces remained in quiet possession 
of the Californias. General Kearney continued in command until the 
31st of May, 1847, when he returned home, leaving Colonel Mason as 
the commanding officer to succeed him in the military government of Cal- 
ifornia. 

Various other successes attended the American arms by land and water, 
during the first year of the war with Mexico. In December, 1846, the secre- 
tary of war, reported that, by the operations of the land and naval forces, the 
United Slates were then in military possession of the department of Ta- 
maulipas, of the right bank of the Rio Grande, for several hundred miles 
from its mouth ; and, of the department of New Leon, Coahuila and Chi- 
huahua were then, in effect, wrested from the control of Mexico ; all Mex- 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 499 

ican authority liad been displaced in New Mexico and the Californias, and 
those large provinces were in quiet possession of the Americans. " Such," 
says the secretary, " are the achievements of our arms within the short 
period of seven months from the commencement of a war suddenly forced 
upon us, when our force was less than three thousand efTective men, with 
a hostile army of double its numerical strength prepared to assail it, and 
exulting in the confident hope of a decisive victory." 

On the 22d of February, 1817, was fought the important battle of 
Biiena Vista, near Saltillo, the capital of Coahuila, by the American troops 
under Gen. Taylor, and the Mexican army under Gen. Santa Anna. The 
latter consisted of twenty thousand men, while the American forces were 
less than one fourth of that number, not five hundred of whom were reg- 
ulars. The action continued two days, after which the Americans were 
left in possession of the field, and the Mexicans retreated to San Luis 
Potosi. The loss on both sides was severe, that of the Mexicans over 
fifteen hundred, and of the Americans about seven hundred and fifty in 
killed and wounded. 

The second session of the twenty-ninth Congress, commenced on the 
7th of December, 1846, and continued until the expiration of its term on 
the 3d of March, 1847. But few acts of general interest were passed, 
and much of the time of the session was taken up in discussing the top- 
ics of the president's message, particularly the war with Mexico, and its 
probable effect upon the general interests of the country. The bill au- 
thorizing the president to erapToy three millions of dollars, if deemed ex- 
pedient, in negotiations for a peace with Mexico, was again revived, and 
the proviso offered by Mr. Wilmot at the last session, prohibiting slavery 
in acquired territory, was again proposed as an amendment, and at first 
the proviso passed the house, but being stricken out in the senate and re- 
turned to the house, the latter body concurred with the senate, and thus 
the three million-bill became a law, without the Wilmot proviso, as the 
amendment was called. An additional army bill, and another authorizing 
the appointment of additional army officers, were passed ; also an act to 
provide for the building of four mail-steamships, and the employment of 
twelve mail-steamships. A bill making appropriations for the improve- 
ment of harbors and rivers passed both houses, but failed of obtaining the 
president's signature, being retained by the executive at the close of the 
session. 

During the month of February, 1847, an American land and naval force 
was concentrated on the gulf of Mexico ; the military being under the 
command of Major-General Scott, and the naval forces under Commodore 
Connor, who was afterward relieved by Commodore Perry. On the 9th 
of March, the troops were debarked at Vera Cruz, and on the following 
day a rapid fire of shot and shells was opened from the city and castle, 
upon the position occupied by the American army. The landing of the 



500 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 



mortars and guns for the American batteries was delayed for several days ; 
consequently the arrangements for a bombardment were not completed un- 
til the 22d of March, when General Scott summoned the city to surren- 
der, which demand was refused by the Mexican governor, Morales. Or- 
ders were then given to fire upon the city, and a continued fire from the 
American batteries was kept up with terrible eff'ect until the 26 th of March, 
when the batteries ceased playing, and articles of capitulation were signed 
on the following day. The surrender of the city took place on the morn- 
ing of the 29th, when the Mexican soldiers marched out to a plain, one 
mile outside of the town, where the Americans were drawn up to receive 
them. The Mexicans laid down their arms and departed for the interior. 

A succession of battles, with uniform success, was fought by the army 
under General Scott, on their march from Vera Cruz to the city of Mexi- 
co, which capital they entered on the 14th of September, 1847. 

Changes having taken place in the Mexican government, and a party 
favorable to peace with the United States placed in power, the leaders of 
which party could not fail to perceive the hopelessness of a farther con- 
test with their more powerful neighbor, commissioners were appointed 
by the Mexican government to treat with Mr. Trist, who had been author- 
ized by the president of the United States to negotiate a treaty. Notwith- 
standing the powers delegated to Mr. Trist had been revoked, negotiations 
were opened and continued until the 2d of February, 1848, when a treaty 
of peace was signed by the Mexican commissioners and Mr. Trist, at the 
city of Guadalupe Hidalgo. By this treaty, the Rio Grande was ac- 
knowledged as one of the boundaries between the United States and Mex- 
ico, thus confirming the claims of the United States to Texas, and the ter- 
ritory between the river Nueces and the Rio Grande. New Mexico and 
Upper California were also ceded to the United States, in consideration 
of which the United States agreed to pay to Mexico, the sum of fifteen 
millions of dollars ; and to assume the claims due her citizens, to an 
amount not exceeding three and one fourth millions of dollars — Mexico 
being entirely released and discharged from the payment of such claims. 
This treaty was duly ratified by the Mexican Congress, and by the sen- 
ate of the United States, and on the 4th of July, 1848, the president of 
the United States issued his proclamation, directing the same to be ob- 
served by the authorities and people of the Union. 

The elections for members of the thirtieth Congress, held in 1846 and 
1847, showed that the administration was not able to sustain the popular- 
ity by which it came into power. While the war with Mexico was un- 
popular in some of the states, in others the repeal of the protective tarifi' 
of 1842, and the passage by a democratic Congress of the tariff' act of 1846, 
which was avowedly based on a revenue principle, instead of that of pro- 
tection, were measures which were regarded with disfavor by a large por- 
tion of the people by whose votes the democratic triumph at the presiden- 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 501 

tial election of 1844 was effected. Consequently the congressional elec- 
tions in Pennsylvania, New York, and some other states, showed a laro-e 
gain in favor of the whig party, and in opposition to the administration. In 
the state of New York, the whigs were aided by local dissensions in the 
democratic party, which became divided into two sections called eventu- 
ally " hunkers" or conservatives, and '• burnburners" or radicals. At the 
election of 1846, Silas AVright belonging to the barnburner faction, being 
nominated for re-election as governor, was defeated, and the whig candi- 
date, John Young, elected by a large majority, many of the hunkers with- 
holding their votes from Mr. Wright, who in 1844, had been elected 
governor by a majority exceeding ten thousand. At the election of 1846, 
a large majority of the members of Congress, elected from the state of 
New York, were of the whig party. 

The result of the elections for members of Congress throughout the 
country, being known before the meeting of the thirtieth Congress, it was 
well ascertained that a majority of the house of representatives would be 
found opposed to the administration, while a majority of the senate con- 
tinued democratic in its character. 

The first session of the thirtieth Congress commenced on the 6th of 
December, 1847, and continued until the 14th of August, 1848. Robert 
C. Winihrop, of Massachusetts (whig), was elected speaker of the house 
of representatives on the third ballot, receiving one hundred and ten votes ; 
Linn Boyd of Kentucky (democrat), sixty-four — other democratic candi- 
dates forty-one, and there were three scattering whig votes. A whig 
clerk and serjeant-at-arms were also elected. 

But few important acts of a general character were passed at this ses- 
sion. A loan of sixteen millions of dollars was authorized, and an act 
for the purchase of the papers of Mr. Madison, fourth president of the 
United States, was passed. A bill for the organization of the territory of 
Oregon was also passed. 

A national convention of the democratic party, for the nomination of 
president and vice-president, was held at Baltimore, in May, 1848. The 
two sections of the democratic party in New York were represented at 
the convention, and each delegation claimed admission. It was finally 
decided to admit both delegations, but each of them declined to take their 
seats, and consequently, New York was not represented in the convention. 
On the fourth ballot the convention nominated General Lewis Cass for 
president, and General William O. Butler of Kentucky, was afterward 
nominated for vice-president. 

The national convention of the whig party met at Philadelphia, on the 
1st of June, 1848. Much difference of opinion prevailed in the selectioa 
of a candidate for president, the principal candidates named, being Zach- 
ary Taylor of Louisiana, Henry Clay of Kentucky, Winfield Scott of 
New Jersey, and Daniel Webster of Massachusetts. On the third ballot 



502 ADMINISTRATION' OF POLK. 

General Taylor was nominatecl, receiving one hundred and se\'enty-one 
votes, General Scott sixty -two, Henry Clay thirty-two, and Daniel Webster 
thirteen. In point of fact, this nomination had been settled from the begin- 
ning. Many delegates who had voted for other candidates at first, were 
known to be really in favor of General Taylor, believing him the most 
available candidate, in consequence of his successful campaigns in xMex- 
ico, and only voting for other candidates in deference to the opinions of 
their constituents. Millard Fillmore of New York was on the second bal- 
lot, nominated for vice-president by a decided majority. 

The agitation of the Wilmot-proviso question, by which it was proposed 
to restrict or prohibit slavery, in the territory acquired by the United States 
from Mexico, caused the formation of a third party, called " the free-soil 
party," merging in its ranks most of those who had been organized as abo- 
litionists, and drawing additional strength from both the whig and demo- 
cratic parties in the northern states. A convention of the free-soil parly 
was held at Buffalo, in the state of New York, on the 8th of August, 1848, 
and nominated Martin Van Buren of New York, for president, and Charles 
Francis Adams of Massachusetts, for vice-president. 

On the 7th of November, 1848, the presidential election took place 
throughout the Union, and resulted in the choice of the whig candidates, 
General Taylor for president, and Millard Fillmore for vice-president, 
each of whom received one hundred and sixty-three electoral voles. The 
democratic candidates. General Cass and General Butler, each received 
one hundred and twenty-seven electoral votes. The free-soil candidates, 
Van Buren and Adams, did not receive any of the electoral votes, as they 
were all given by states, but their aggregate popular vote exceeded two 
hundred and ninety thousand. 

The second session of the thirtieth Congress commenced on the 4th of 
December, 1848, and continued until the expiration of its term on the 4th 
of March, 1849. 

The principal subject of public interest agitated at this session, was 
that of the organization of governments, for the newly-acquired territories 
by cession from Mexico, namely, New Mexico, and California ; but in 
consequence of disagreement between the senate and house of represent- 
atives, with regard to the prohibition of slavery in those territories, all 
attempts made to pass laws for their organization as territorial governments, 
or otherwise, were unsuccessful. A majority of the house of representa- 
tives were in favor of the "Wilmot-proviso" so called, by which slavery 
would be prohibited in the new territories, while a majority of the senate 
were opposed to such proviso or restriction. 

Early in the session, Mr. Douglass, of Illinois, introduced in the senate 
a bill for the admission of California, as a state, into the Union, without the 
preliminary measure of a territorial government, which had been the uni- 
form precedent established by Congress, except in the case of the admis- 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 503 

sion of Texas. Mr. Douglass gave as his reasons, for introducing the bill, 
that the discovery of vast mineral wealth in California, and the establish- 
ment of facilities for communication iherevv^ith, had invited so great a tide 
of emigration thither, as to give reason to believe that it will soon possess 
a population far exceeding that requisite for her admission into this con- 
federacy as a state ; and that he despaired of any territorial bill being 
passed at this session of Congress ; three different bills presented for that 
purpose, having already been rejected. His bill provided for the erection 
of all the territory acquired from Mexico, into one state, by the name of 
the state of California, Congress reserving the right, at any time, to form 
n-evv states out of any portion of said territory, lying east of the Sierra Ne- 
vada mountains ; the state to be divided into two judicial districts. 

The above bill was referred to the judiciary committee, which on the 
9th of January, made an unfavorable report therein, and recommended the 
establishment of a territorial government, for each of the two territories 
cf New Mexico and California. In the opinion of a majority of the com- 
mittee, the power conferred by the constitution on Congress is to admit 
new states — not to create them. 

The subject being referred to a select committee, Mr. Douglass, the chair- 
man thereof, on the 29th Jantiary, reported a new bill, providing for the 
formation of two new states from the territories in question, and leaving 
the question of slavery to the decision of the people thereof. The bill 
having been laid aside for the day, on the 2d of February, Mr. Douglass 
moved that it be again taken up ; which motion was negatived by a very 
decided vote of the senate. 

On the 20th of February, IMr. Walker of Wisconsin, submitted in the 
senate, an amendment to the civil and diplomatic appropriation bill, provi- 
ding for the extension of the revenue laws of the United States, over Cali- 
fornia and New Mexico ; also to extend the constitution of the United 
States, and all general laws which are applicable, over the same; likewise 
that the president appoint the officers, and make the necessary regulations 
to carry these provisions into effect — the object being to preserve order 
and administer justice in these territories. 

After an able and interesting debate, which was continued for several 
days, the senate adopted Mr. Walker's amendment by a small majority, 
but in the house of representatives the bill was further amended by attach- 
ing thereto the Wilmot-proviso, prohibiting slavery in the new territories, 
which the senate refused to accede to, and the debates in the two houses 
on this subject continued until the very last hour of the session ; indeed 
so as to jeopard the passage of the civil and diplomatic appropriation 
bill altogether ; when finally at five o'clock on Sunday morning, 4th March, 
the senate, by a vote of thirty-eight to seven, disagreed to the California 
amendment of the house and receded from their own amendment, thus 
ei«aring the appropriation bill of obstructions and passing it — of course 



504 ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 

sweeping out of the bill, everything relating to a temporary goremraent 
for California and New Mexico. A bill which had previously passed the 
house of representatives, extending the revenue laws of the United States 
to California, was then taken up and passed by the senate. 

Mr. Benton, on the 13ih December, presented in the senate, a petition 
from citizens of New Mexico, praying for the organization of a territorial 
government, protesting against the dismemberment of their territory in 
favor of Texas, and containing the following clause on the subject of 
slavery : — 

" We do not desire to have domestic slavery within our borders, and 
until the time shall arrive for our admission into the Union as a state, we 
desire to be protected by Congress against its introduction among us." 

After considerable debate, this petition was ordered to be printed, and 
referred to the appropriate committee. 

Various propositions were introduced at this session to grant the aid 
of the national government to railroad communications, to be constructed 
between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but no definite ac- 
tion was had on either of these plans. A bill was reported in the senate, 
by Mr. Benton, from the committee on military affairs, authorizing and 
directing the secretary of the navy to ente? into a contract, for a period 
not exceeding twenty years, with William H. Aspinwall, John L. Stephens, 
and Henry Chauncey, of New York, for the transportation, by steam, of 
the mails, naval and army supplies, &c., over a railroad to be constructed 
across the isthmus of Panama, from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean ; at 
a sum not exceeding three fourths of the "amount now stipulated by law 
to be paid for the transportation of the mails alone from New York to Liv- 
erpool. This bill, although pressed and debated until the last days of the 
session, failed to receive the support of a majority of the senate. 

Mr. Benton also introduced in the senate a bill, which was not acted 
upon, providing for the location and construction of a central national rail- 
road from the Pacific ocean at San Francisco, to the Mississippi river at 
St. Louis ; with a branch to the tidewater of Columbia river — appropria- 
ting therefor, seventy-five per cent, of the proceeds of sales of the public 
lands in Oregon and California, and fifty per cent, of the amount of sales 
of all other public lands. 

A convention of southern members of Congress, comprising a large por- 
tion of the members of both houses from the slaveholding states, which 
was held during this session, attracted considerable of the public attention. 
The motive for calling this convention arose mainly from the previous pro- 
ceedings in the house of representatives at the present session, relating in 
part to the subject of slavery, and the slave-trade in the District of Colum- 
bia, and in part to ihe question of the prohibition of slavery in the recently- 
acquired territories of California and New Mexico. 

The first meeting was held in the senate chamber, on the 23d Decern- 



ADMINISTRATION OF POLK. 505 

ber, 1848, at wliicli were present sixty-eight members of Congress. Ex- 
Governor Aletcalfe, senator from Kentucky, presided. Mr. Bayly, a mem- 
ber of the house, from Virginia, offered a series of resolutions, embracing 
essentially the principles of the Virginia resolutions of 1798. These res- 
olutions of Mr. Bayly were referred to a committee of one member from 
each of the slaveholding states, which committee appointed a sub-com- 
mittee of five, of whom Mr. Calhoun, of South Carolina, was chairman, 
to consider and report upon the subjects referred to them. 

On the 15th of January, the convention again met, between eighty and 
ninety members attending ; and Mr. Calhoun, from the committee of fif- 
teen, reported " an address of the southern delegates to their constituents," 
— which paper, after giving a review of the constitutional provisions in 
relation to slavery, and the rights of the slaveholding states under that 
instrument, set forth the alleged infractions of these provisions by the 
northern or free states, and advised the south to be united among them- 
selves in the present crisis, and to maintain an immovable attitude of 
readiness, if necessary, to defend their rights. 

The address having been recommitted to the committee, the convention 
again met on the 22d of January, when Mr. Berrien, of Georgia, submit- 
ted an " address to the people of the United States," as a substitute for 
that of Mr. Calhoun ; which substitute the convention, by a vote of twenty- 
seven to thirty-four, refused to adopt. Mr. Calhoun's address was then 
adopted by a vote of forty-two yeas, to seventeen nays, and after being 
signed by forty-eight members, thirty thousand copies of it were published 
for distribution. Of the signers, two were whigs, and forty-six democrats. 
The principal acts of public importance passed at this session were as 
follows : to establish the home department, and to provide for an assistant 
secretary of the treasury, and a commissioner of the customs ; to extend 
the revenue laws of the United States over the territory and waters of 
Upper California, and to create a collection district therein ; to establish 
the territorial government of Minesota ; to make arrangements for taking 
the seventh census ; to authorize the coinage of twenty and one dol- 
lar gold pieces ; requiring all moneys receivable from customs and from 
all other sources to be paid immediately into the treasury, without abate- 
ment or deduction ; to cause the northern boundary line of the state of Iowa 
to be run and marked ; to carry into effect certain stipulations of the treaty 
between the United States and Mexico ; and a resolution authorizing the 
secretary of war to furnish arms and ammunition to emigrants to Oregon, 
California, and New Mexico. 

A convention or treaty between the governments of the United States 
and Great Britain, " for the ijnprovement of the communications by post 
between their respective territories," was signed in London on the 15th 
of December, 1848, by Lord Palmerston, on the part of the British gov- 
ernment, and Mr. Bancroft, on the part of the United States. This was 
confirmed by the United States senate on the 5th of January, 1849. 



506 ADMINISTRATION OF POLK, 

In 1846, Mr. M'Lane, minister plenipotentiary to Great Britain, having 
returned to the United States, George Bancroft was appointed in his place, 
and consequently resigned as secretary of the navy. To the latter office 
John Y. Mason was transferred from that of attorney-general, and Nathan 
Clifford, of Maine, succeeded Mr. Mason. In 1848, Mr. Clifford was ap- 
pointed minister to Mexico, and was succeeded in the office of attorney- 
general by Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut. 

The administration of Mr. Polk, which terminated on the 4th of March, 
1849, was marked by measures and events of the most decided and im- 
portant character on the interests of the country ; among its most impor- 
tant features, was the war with Mexico, began, as we have seen, under 
circumstances which rendered it unpopular with a considerable portion of 
the people of the United States, but, in consequence of the unchecked 
triumphs of the American arms, and the unsurpassed valor and skill of 
the military and naval forces of the United States employed in Mexico, 
eventually became popular with the people, and was carried on and brought 
to a successful and honorable conclusion by the same administration which 
had commenced it. The advantages gained by this war, as claimed by 
the friends of the administration, were, the acquisition of the large and 
important territories of New Mexico and California, by which the area of 
the United States territory was greatly extended, and the boundary with 
Mexico permanently settled — the newly-acquired countries being of great 
value on account of their mineral wealth, and possessing important harbors 
on the Pacific ocean ; also the elevation of the reputation of the people 
of the United States ; and the Mexicans being taught by experience, their 
inferiority and inability to contend with their northern neighbors, will avoid 
causes of war on their own part, while their cession of territory to the 
United States will hasten the peopling and improvement of those portions 
of the continent of North America, which, under the dominion of the 
Spanish race, have hitherto lain waste and unoccupied. Those who 
disapproved of the war contend that a collision of arms might have been 
avoided by proper measures on the part of the administration of Mr. Polk, 
and that the advantages gained by the conquests of our army are more than 
counterbalanced by the sacrifice of more than twenty-five thousand lives of 
citizens of the United States, lost during the war, by battles, sickness, and 
other casualties, and at a cost of over one hundred millions of dollars. 

The other prominent measures of Mr. Polk's administration were, the 
settlement of the Oregon boundary question with Great Britain ; the estab- 
lishment of an independent treasury system, by which the revenues of the 
nation are collected in gold and silver, or treasury-notes, without the aid 
of banks ; and a revision of the tariff, by which the establishment of an 
advalorem system of duties on imports, accompanied with a warehouse 
system, has been effected ; on the policy of which financial measures the 
American people have been, and still continue to be, divided in opinion. 




■End^by V3alch-5M>3i aDa^erxeo-^e 



7at/-^r 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



OF 



ZACHARY TAYLOR. 



Virginia, the "Ancient Dominion" of the British American colonies, 
has obtained also the name of the "Mother of Presidents," among the states ; 
it being the native state of no less than seven of the presidents of the 
United States, including Zachary Taylor, the twelfth on the list of those 
who have filled that high station. It is worthy of remark, that three of 
these Virginians have been elected without the aid of the electoral votes 
of their native state. 

The family of the Taylors of Virginia, to which the twelfth president 
belongs, is honorably distinguished in the annals of the colony and the 
state. Its ancestors of the same name emigrated from England, with other 
friends of liberty, and settled in the southeastern part of the colony of 
Virginia in the year 1692. Among the difierent branches and connex- 
ions of the family are the Madisons, Lees, Barbours, Pendletons, Con- 
ways, Taliaferos, Hunts, Gaineses, and others, whose public services and 
patriotism, during more than a century, are commemorated in colonial and 
national history. 

Richard Taylor, the father of General Zachary Taylor, was born in 
Virginia, on the 22d of March, 1744. He received a plain but solid edu- 
cation, and in boyhood evinced the bold and adventurous spirit which after- 
ward led him to seek a home in the western wilderness. When still a 
youth, he made a journey to Kentucky, and thence to the banks of the 
Mississippi, surveying the country as far as Natchez, and returning on 
foot, without guide or companion, through pathless woods, inhabited only 
by savages and wild beasts, to his father's house in Virginia.* 

At the age of thirty-five, on the 20th of August, 1779, Richard Taylor 
married Sarah Strother, a young lady of highly respectable connexions, 
then in her twentieth year. At this time he held a colonel's commission 

• For part of the facts mentioned in this sketch, we are indebted to Fry's Life of General Tay- 
lor ; also to Montgomeiy's memoir of the same. 



508 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

in the Virginia line, and served with zeal and valor throughout the revo- 
lutionary war. He was engaged in several of the most important battles 
of that war, particularly in the brilliant achievement of Trenton, where he 
rendered distinguished and valuable aid to General Washington. 

Five sons and three daughters were the offspring of the marriage of 
Colonel Richard Taylor — the first child born in 1781. His third son, 
Zachary Taylor, the subject of this memoir, was born in Orange 
county, Virginia, on the 24th of November, 1784. In the following sum- 
mer his father fulfilled his long-cherished intention of emigrating to Ken- 
tucky, only ten years after the first habitation of a white man had been 
erected in the vast region between the western boundary of Virginia and 
the Mississippi. In the emigration of Colonel Richard Taylor to this 
country, he had been preceded by his brother Hancock Taylor, a brave 
and intelligent man, who lost his life by the Indians while engaged in 
surveying lands in the Ohio valley. He is said to have selected for his 
farm the site of the present city of Louisville. 

The early years of Zachary Taylor were passed under the guidance of 
such men, and under such circumstances for the development of a bold 
spirit and active intellect. His father had settled in JefiTerson county, 
near Louisville, where he acquired a large estate by his industry and 
thrift, and honorable consideration by his intelhgence, bravery, and patri- 
otism. As Louisville rose into importance, his own fortune and local 
distinction increased. He received from President Washington a com- 
mission as collector of that port. New Orleans being then a Spanish pos- 
session. Richard Taylor was also one of the framers of the constitution 
of Kentucky; represented Jefferson county for many years in both branches 
of the legislature, and was a member of the electoral colleges which voted 
for Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Clay. Among the politicians of Ken- 
tucky he is remembered as one of the few men of the " Old Court party" 
who could be elected from Jefferson county during the excitement of the 
old and new court question. He died on his plantation, near Louisville, 
leaving to survive him three sons and three daughters, of whom one son 
and two daughters have since died. His two surviving sons, Zachary 
and Joseph, have both chosen a military profession, as did their brother 
Hancock, who died in 1808. 

One of the chief cares of Colonel Taylor was the education of his 
children ; but during the first ten or fifteen years of his residence in Ken- 
tucky, the sparseness of the population, and the exposure of the inhabit- 
ants to Indian hostilities, made the accomplishment of his purpose very 
diflScult. A school for the rudiments of English merely was established 
in his neighborhood by Elisha Ayres, a native of Connecticut, who after- 
Avard returned to that state, and now resides, at the advanced age of four- 
score years, at Preston, near Norwich. To Mr. Ayres, as his teacher, 
was Zachary Taylor sent in his early years, to receive such instruction as 



BIOGRAPHICAX. SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 509 

was practicable under the circumstances, while constant care and watch- 
fulness were necessary on the part of his father and other guardians of 
his youth, for protection against savage foes. 

After the Indians were subdued by the decisive victory of General 
Wayne, in 1794, a general peace was concluded with them, in the follow- 
ing year, and from that period the prosperity of Kentucky advanced rapidly 
with the increase of population. Zachary Taylor was reared by his father 
to his own profession, that of a farmer ; and, until he attained the age of 
twenty-one, was practically engaged in that laborious occupation, lajang 
the foundation of the robust health, hardy habits, and persevering industry, 
which have been the test of various climates, rude fare, and severe duty, 
during a military life of more than forty years. The military service very 
early engaged his affections and excited his ambition. When Aaron 
Burr's movements in the west began to arouse suspicion, the patriotic 
young men of Kentucky formed volunteer companies to oppose his de- 
signs by arms, if occasion should demand such a result. The brothers 
Taylor were enrolled in a troop raised for this purpose. Their services 
were not required by the events, and after the alarm had subsided, Zach- 
ary returned to his farm. 

On the death of his brother, Lieutenant Hancock Taylor, who held a 
commission in the United States army, an opportunity was afforded Zach- 
ary of obtaining the vacancy. Through the influence of his relative, James 
Madison, then secretary of state, and of his uncle. Major Edmund Tay- 
lor, tie received from President Jefferson, on the 3d of May, 1808, his 
commission as first lieutenant in the seventh regiment of United States 
infantry. At this time, when he was in the twenty-fourth year of his age, 
he was in the enjoyment of a competency from his occupation as a farmer. 
But the activity of his mind, and his taste for a military profession, led 
him to prefer the care and privations of a soldier's life to the quiet and 
comforts of a landed proprietor at home. His first experience in his new 
vocation had nearly proved fatal. He was ordered to report himself to 
General Wilkinson, in New Orleans ; and being seized there with the 
yellow fever, was obliged to return home for the recovery of his health. 
He appears to have employed his time sedulously in the study of his pro- 
fession, as we find him, three years from this time, fulfilling with honor a 
dangerous and important post. 

In 1810, ..Lieutenant Taylor was married to Miss Margaret Smith, a lady 
of Maryland, of a highly respectable family in that state. She was sister 
of the late Major R. S. Smith, of the marine corps. 

The Indian tribes on the northwestern frontier of the United States 
having been excited to feelings of hostilities against the Americans, as was 
supposed and believed through the agency of British emissaries sent 
among them, and a general league of the tribes being on the point of 
formation, by the influence of the noted chief Tecumseh and his brother 



510 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

the Prophet, the American government took early steps to counteract 
their operations. General Harrison, then governor of the northwestern 
territory, was ordered to march a competent force into the Indian 
country. 

After the declaration of war, in 1812, Taylor was placed in command 
of Fort Harrison, a block-house and stockade, which had been erected by 
order of General Harrison, on the Wabash river, about fifty miles above 
Vincennes. Congress declared war against Great Britain on the 1 9th of 
June, 1812, and at no previous period was the spirit of those Indians who 
were allies of England, and led on by Tecumseh and the Prophet, so 
fully aroused to the determination of exterminating the Americans on the 
northwestern frontier as at this time. Their first object of attack was 
Fort Harrison, and three months after war with England had been for- 
mally declared, they were banded for the purpose of this and other acts 
of hostility. Captain Taylor had some intimations of their intentions, 
which were confirmed on the 3d of September, by the report of guns in 
the vicinity of the fort. On the following day it was discovered that two 
men had been murdered and scalped by the Indians. Captain Taylor, 
therefore, made every effort in his power for defence. The whole force 
under his command was about fifty men, of whom nearly two thirds were 
invalids, and he himself was just recovering from a fever. The Indians 
were aware of his weakness, but preferred the exercise of their native 
cunning to the hazard of an open attack. A deputation of the Prophet's 
party came to the fort with a white flag, and affecting peaceable inten^tions. 
Captain Taylor was not deceived by this stratagem, and he made prepa- 
rations for an assault from the enemy. At night a watch was set, and the 
remaining few retired to rest. An hour before midnight the report of a 
musket was heard, and Taylor, springing from his brief sleep, found his 
savage foes were making an attack upon the fort. On their approach, the 
sentinels had retreated within, and it was discovered that the lower build- 
ing was already fired by the Indians, rendering the situation of the garri- 
son one of extreme peril. The young captain, however, retained his 
composure, and while he directed a part of his small force to carry buck- 
ets of water to extinguish the flames, the other soldiers returned the fire 
of the Indians by a steady discharge of musketry, the assailants, during 
seven hours, abating no efTort to carry the fort, and being for some time 
under the cover of a very dark night. In this protracted attack only three 
of the garrison were killed and three wounded, while the Indians suffered 
severely from their exposed situation. At six o'clock on the morning of 
the 5th, dispirited by their loss, they abandoned the attempt to carry the 
fort, and retired from the spot, after destroying all the provisions of the 
post, and killing or driving off' all the horses and cattle. 

The account of this afl^air by Captain Taylor, in a letter to General 
Harrison, dated the lOlh of September, 1812, is his first official despatch, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 511 

and has the unaffected spirit, without the experienced style, of his more 
mature productions. 

The failure of their enterprise against Fort Harrison disheartened the 
Indians, and they abandoned for a time any further attempts against it; yet 
the garrison expected another attack, and Captain Taylor sent to General 
Harrison an account of his situation, and an application for assistance. 
A large force, under General Hopkins, was immediately sent to the relief 
of the garrison, then reduced to want by sickness, fatigue, and the loss 
of provisions. 

The conduct of Taylor at Fort Harrison was not overlooked by his su- 
perior officers, by the public, or by the government. General Hopkins, 
in a letter to the governor of Kentucky, said of him : " The firm and 
almost unparalleled defence of Fort Harrison by Captain Zachary Taylor, 
has raised for him a fabric of character not to be effaced by eulogy." The 
president afforded a satisfactory proof of his favorable opinion, by con- 
ferring upon Taylor the rank of major by brevet — the oldest instance in 
the service of this species of promotion. 

The Indians, notwithstanding their defeat, continued their depredations 
upon the inhabitants on the frontier, and to arrest their atrocities General 
Hopkins planned an expedition against the Indian villages on the Illinois, and 
commenced his march about the middle of October. But the volunteers 
under his command evinced insubordination, and the general resolved to 
abandon the expedition. The villages, however, were attacked by a de- 
tachment under Colonel Russell, and destroyed. In the following month, 
General Hopkins undertook a second expedition, directed against the 
Prophet's and Winebago town, in which Major Taylor took part, and re- 
ceived the commendations of the general. Several skirmishes occurred, 
in some of which our troops suffered severely. They succeeded in 
achieving their main objects, devastating the enemy's country and destroy- 
ing their settlements. The winter forced both parties into a cessation of 
active hostilities. From this time to the close of the war with Great 
Britain, Major Taylor was engaged on the northwest frontier, accom- 
plishing the purposes of the government with unremitting vigilance. 

In 1814, Major Taylor commanded an expedition against the British 
and Indians on Rock river, a branch of the Mississippi. By order of 
General Howard, Major Taylor left Fort Independence, on the 2d August, 
at the head of a detachment of about three hundred and fifty men, and 
proceeded in boats up the Mississippi to Rock river, where they arrived 
on the 4lh of September. The British and Indians being strongly posted 
near the mouth of the river, and well provided with artillery, commenced 
firing upon the Americans before they had an opportunity to land, and the 
boats were exposed to the fire of the artillery and musketry for a consid- 
erable time, which was returned by Taylor's troops, from small arms and 
the cannon on board the boats. The Americans then dropped down the 



512 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

river about three miles, and landed ; being followed by the enemy, Taylor 
halted on a small prairie and prepared his troops for action, when the 
British and Indians hastily retired. The Americans in this affair had 
eleven men killed and wounded. 

Taylor then called a council of his officers, and as the enemy was at 
least three to one in number to the Americans, it was decided that it 
would be madness to attack them in their position, without a prospect of 
success. Major Taylor therefore determined to drop down the river to 
the Des Moines rapids, and execute one of the principal objects of the 
expedition, namely, to erect a fort to command the river ; which was done, 
and the same was called Fort Madison. The details of this expedition, 
]\Iajor Taylor communicated to General Howard, in an official despatch, 
dated September 6, 1814. 

On the restoration of peace with Great Britain, in 1815, Congress 
adopted the policy of reducing the army and of annulling promotions made 
during the war. Among other officers who suffered from this policy was 
Major Taylor, who was reduced to the rank of captain ; in consequence 
of which he resigned his commission, and left the service, returning to 
his family, from whom he had so long been separated, and resuming his 
agricultural pursuits. 

In consequence of the influence of his friends, who were not content 
to see him retire from the army, for such a cause, he was reinstated by 
President Madison, in the course of the year, and consented again to leave 
his home and its attractions for the monotonous service of the army in 
time of peace. In 1816, Major Taylor was ordered to Green Bay, on 
Lake Michigan, and remained in command of that post for two years. 
Returning to Kentucky, he passed a year with his family, and was then 
ordered to join Colonel Russell at New Orleans. Except during a tem- 
porary absence, when recalled by the illness of his wife, he continued in 
the south for several years, generally engaged in some active duty. One 
of his labors was the opening of a military road, and another, the erection 
of Fort Jesup — the latter in 1822. On the 20lh of April, 1819, Taylor 
received the commission of a lieutenant-colonel. In 1824, he was en- 
gaged at Louisville in the recruiting service, and in the latter part of that 
year he was ordered to the city of Washington. 

In 1826, he was member of a board of officers of the army and militia 
(of which General Scott was president), convened by Mr. Barbour, then 
secretary of war, to consider and propose a system for the organization and 
improvement of the militia of the United States. In this board, Taylor's 
opinions were in favor of maintaining the militia strictly as citizen-sol- 
diery, instead of giving them the character of a regular army, as proposed 
by some. The report drawn by General Scott, and adopted on motion of 
Colonel Taylor, was approved in Congress, but was not carried into effect. 

Resuming his duties on the northwestern frontier, Taylor continued for 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 513 

five years in that position, where he seems to have been unconsciously- 
preparing himself in his profession for the splendid achievements of his 
latter years. A writer in the " Literary World" thus mentions him : " As 
plain Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, I have often seen him putting his men 
through the battalion drill, on the northern banks of the Wisconsin, in the 
depth of February. This would seem only characteristic of the man who 
has since proved himself equally ^ Rough and Ready' under the scorch- 
ing sun of the tropics. But, looking back through long years to many a 
pleasant hour spent in the well-selected library of the post which Colonel 
Taylor then commanded, we recur now with singular interest to the 
agreeable conversations held in the room which was the colonel's favorite 
resort, amid the intervals of duty." And the same chronicler of his 
severe habits of discipline and study continues : " Nor will the reader 
think these personal reminiscences impertinent, when we add that our 
object in recurring to them here is simply to mention that, remembering 
alike the wintry drill and the snug book-room, Taylor's hardihood — the 
idea of which now so readily attaches to his soubriquet of ' Rough and 
Ready' — would certainly not then have struck a stranger as more char- 
acteristic than his liberal-minded intelligence." 

In 1832, Taylor was promoted by President Jackson to the rank of 
eolonel. During the previous year, the difficulties between the white set- 
tlers near Rock river, Illinois, and the Sac Indians under the celebrated 
chief Black Hawk, had been fomented, by bad and intelrested white men, 
to a point of open hostilities. Black Hawk and his brother the Prophet, 
at the head of a large party of Indians, having defeated an American vol- 
unteer force near Rock river, on the 14th of May, 1832, the people of 
Illinois became greatly alarmed, and the secretary of war ordered about a 
thousand regular troops, under the command of General Scott, to the 
scene of action, and ac'ive hostilities ensued, and continued for three 
months. In July, General Scott was reinforced by 2,500 men, under 
General Atkinson, including 400 regulars under Colonel Taylor. Toward 
the close of the month the Indians retreated into the wilderness, and Gen- 
eral Atkinson, with a detachment of 1,300 men, including the regulars 
under Colonel Taylor, pursued them. By great perseverance, during a 
forced march, the Americans succeeded in overtaking the Indians near the 
junction of the Mississippi and Iowa rivers, where a desperate conflict 
ensued, which resulted in a total route of the Indians, many falling by our 
arms, others perishing in the river, and the rest dispersing or submitting 
themselves prisoners. The chief, Black Hawk, who then escaped, was 
in the course of the month surrendered by some of his faithless allies, 
and with his capture ended the war. The chief and his fellow-prisoners 
were confided to the charge of Colonel Taylor, who conveyed them to 
the Jefl^erson barracks, where they arrived about the middle of September. 

After the Black Hawk war, Colonel Taylor was for a short time at 
33 



514 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

Louisville, with his family, and was thence ordered to Prairie du Chien, 
to the command of Fort Crawford, a work which had been erected under 
his superintendence. Here he remained until 1836, when his services 
were required in Florida, to assist in reducing the Seminole Indians to 
submission. To that field he immediately repaired, although he might 
■with propriety have asked of the government a season of repose, having 
very rarely enjoyed the ease and tranquillity of home during a period of 
more than twenty-five years. 

The Seminole Indians, the remnants of the aborigines of Florida, were re- 
quired by the government of the United States to emigrate from that territory 
to lands appropriated for their occupation on the west of the Mississippi 
river. A treaty with the Seminole chiefs for the removal of their tribe was 
Concluded at Payne's landing, in Florida, in May, 1832, by which treaty they 
-were allowed three years to depart. The government was first advised 
in 1834 of their disinclination to leave their homes and those of their 
fathers. But as late as the spring of 1835, there was among the whites in 
Florida a confidence in the calm disposition of the Seminoles, and their 
willingness to submit to the destiny of their race. A daring chief, how- 
ever, arose among this tribe, bearing the name of Osceola, destined to 
hold a place in history with other distinguished leaders of the aborigines 
who have resisted the progress of the Anglo-Saxons on this continent. 
By inheritance Osceola enjoyed no title or distinction among the Semi- 
noles. He derived his origin from the Creeks, and had affected, until over 
thirty years of age, pacific feelings toward the whites. At length, throw- 
ing off disguise, he declared openly against the United States, supplanting 
himself the legitimate chiefs of the Seminoles ; and he even put to death 
those who were for peaceful measures. He acquired perfect ascendency 
over his Indian brethren, and his signal war-cry met with a' response from 
the remnants of the tribes who were still inhabitants of Florida. Murders 
were committed on the frontiers, and at one time even St. Augustine was 
threatened by the hostile Indians. 

The United States troops at this time in Florida numbered about 500 
men, stationed at several posts, General Clinch being in command. On 
the 23d of December, 1835, two companies under Major Dade, while 
marching to join the general, were surprised by a large body of Indians^ 
and, after a protracted resistance, were all massacred, except three men, 
who, exhausted with wounds, escaped to tell the fate of their comrades. 
Open war now commenced. Many Creeks joined the Seminoles, and the 
United States government found it necessary to send in succession its 
most able officers and best troops into the field. On the part of the Indi- 
ans, occasional success added vigor to their bold and cruel enterprises. 

When Colonel Taylor reached Florida, the war with the Seminoles, be- 
gan in 1835, had been prosecuted with indifferent success. General 
Jesup then had command of the army in this territory, and had made 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 515 

fruitless attempts to bring the war to a close. All friendly conferences 
,wilh the chiefs, aided by a delegation of Cherokees as mediators, having 
failed, it was determined, in the autumn of 1837, to take more active 
measures against the Indians. Colonel Taylor received orders to seek 
out any portion of the enemy wherever to be found, and to destroy or 
capture the hostile forces. Accordingly, in pursuance of instructions 
from General Jesup, Colonel Taylor, with about 1,100 men, left Fort 
Gardner on the 20th of December, 1837, and through dense thickets of 
cypress, palmetto, and other underwood, the troops made their way to the 
everglades, where the Indians were concealed. 

After a march of five days, the troops, on the 25th of December, reached 
a cypress swamp where they had evidence that a large body of the enemy 
were near. Taylor disposed his army in order of battle, and crossing the 
swamp, reached a large prairie, on the farther side of which was 
an extensive hammock, in which the Indians were posted. The 
American troops had penetrated but a short distance, when they were sud- 
denly attacked by several hundred warriors, with their rifles. The shock 
for a time was fearlessly sustained, although several officers and men fell 
at the first fire. Seeing their leaders fall, some of the volunteers gave 
way, but soon after rallied, and the regular troops eagerly pressed on 
through the morass. Thrice the enemy wavered and gave ground, and 
thrice returned to the most desperate conflict ever maintained by their 
arms. The battle lasted for more than two hours, when the savages were 
driven from the field to their camp on the borders of Lake Okeechobee, 
being closely pursued by the regulars and volunteers until night closed in. 

This battle of Okee.chobee is one of the most memorable in our annals 
of Indian wars, as one of the most remarkable for bravery and skill on 
both sides. The American loss was very severe, 26 being killed, and 
112 wounded, among whom were some of the most valuable officers in the 
service, including Lieutenant-Colonel Thompson, Colonel Gentry, Adju- 
tant Center, Captain Van Svvaringen, and others, among the slain. The 
loss of the Indians could not be ascertained, but in the opinion of Colonel 
Taylor it was about equal to that of our troops. 

The immediate consequence of the battle of Okeechobee was the sur- 
render of a number of Seminoles to the forces under the command of 
Colonel Taylor. The decisive action and dearly-bought victory of the 
Americans gave a death-blow to the power and daring defiance of the hos- 
tile tribe. Although outrages were frequently committed by small parties 
of savages, for a year or two afterward, the Seminoles were never again 
completely organized, as a tribe or nation, in opposition to the whites. 

If the triumph of Taylor failed to reduce the whole body of Indians 
immediately to terms of peace, it still demanded and received the grateful 
recognition of the nation and the government. The sentiments of the lat- 
ter were expressed in a general order from the war department, through 



516 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

Major- General Macomb, commander-in-cliief of the army, dated February 
20, 1838, tendering the thanks of the president of the United States to 
Colonel Taylor, and the officers and troops under his command, for their 
gallant conduct in the battle with the Seminole Indians on the 25th of 
December. 

This official acknowledgment was soon after followed by Taylor's pro- 
motion to the rank of brigadier-general by brevet, " for distinguished ser- 
vices in the battle of Kissimmee (Okeechobee), in Florida." 

In April, 1838, the command of the troops in Florida was assigned to 
General Taylor ; relieving General Jesup, at the request of the latter. In 
this responsible position Taylor's energies were devoted to the protection 
of the inhabitants from the attacks of the Indians, and the reduction of 
the latter to the authority of the United States. The perfect accomplish- 
ment of these objects was impracticable with the means and forces placed 
at the disposal of the commander. From time to time skirmishes with 
the Indians took place, and small parties of them were occasionally cap- 
tured, or voluntarily surrendered. But they never could be brought to a 
general action, and continued, at intervals, their outrages upon the white 
inhabitants. 

The United States government, toward the close of the year 1839, 
abandoned the policy which it had pursued in Florida, and determined to 
leave the Indians in their strongholds, and to confine the operations of 
the troops to the protection of the border settlements. In the general or- 
ders of the war department in November, 1839, the conduct of the com- 
mander was thus approved : — 

" General Taylor, by the zealous and intelligent discharge of his duties, 
having given satisfaction to the department, will continue in command." 

General Taylor's skill and energies were faithfully exerted to fulfil the 
designs of the government, but the force at his disposal was never ade- 
quate. Having labored four years in this thankless field, he was anxious 
to retire from it ; and, at his own request, was relieved from the command, 
and was succeeded by General Armistead, in April, 1840. 

The distinguished talents which General Taylor had displayed through- 
out his career in the army, were too well known and appreciated by the 
government to allov^ him to remain idle, or to be stationed at a post of in- 
activity. He was, therefore, immediately after leaving Florida, appointed 
to the command of the first department of the army in the southwest. This 
department included the slates of Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, and 
Louisiana, his headquarters being at Fort Jesup, in the latter state. In 
the summer of 1841, he was ordered to relieve General Arbuckle, at Fort 
Gibson, where he remained nearly five years, constantly engaged in dis- 
ciplining his troops, and in other services pertaining to his command. 

Haviug purchased an estate in Louisiana, General Taylor removed his 
family from Kentucky to Baton Rouge, on the banks of the Mississippi, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 517 

where they continued to reside for some years. His constant occupation 
in the army gave him but few opportunities of enjoying the comforts of 
domestic retirement. 

Soon after the annexation of Texas to the United States, General 
Taylor, who was then situated at Fort Jesup, Louisiana, received a con- 
fidential letter from the secretary of war, Mr. Marcy, dated May 28, 1845, 
instructing him to place his troops at such a position as would enable him 
to defend the territory of Texas in case of invasion from Mexico. The 
Congress of the United States, on the 1st of March, 1845, had passed a 
joint resolution giving its consent that the territory belonging to the repub- 
lic of Texas might be erected into a new state, called the state of Texas ; 
subject, however, to the adjustment by this government of " all questions 
of boundary that might arise with other governments." 

The instructions of the war department to General Taylor, above re- 
ferred to, implied clearly an apprehension that the consequence of the 
annexation of Texas might be a collision with Mexico. The secretary 
stated, that as soon as the Congress of Texas should assent to the act, and 
a convention should assemble and accept the terms offered in the joint 
annexation resolutions of the Congress of the United States, Texas would 
be regarded " as part of the United States, so far as to be entitled from 
this government to a defence from foreign invasion and Indian incursions." 
General Taylor was accordingly directed to keep his command in readi- 
ness for this dufy. The anticipation of difficulty with Mexico was fur- 
ther indicated by instructions to General Taylor to' open a correspondence 
with the authorities of Texas, or any diplomatic agent of the United States 
residing therein, with a view to information and advice in respect to the 
common Indian enemy, as well as to any foreign power ; and also to em- 
ploy his forces in defence of the Texan territory, if invaded by a foreign 
power, and to expel the invaders. 

General Taylor was thus apprized of the service which might be ex- 
pected of him. In July, 1845, he was informed by the war department, 
that the acceptance by Texas of the terms of annexation would probably 
be formally made by the Congress of that republic on the 4th of that 
month, and, in anticipation of that event, he was instructed to make an 
immediate forward movement with the troops under his command, and 
advance to the mouth of the Sabine, or to such other point on the gulf of 
Mexico, or its navigable waters, as might be most convenient for an em- 
barkation at the proper time, for the western frontier of Texas. 

The most expeditious route was recommended. The forces named for 
this duty were the 3d and 4th regiments of infantry, and seven companies 
of the 2d regiment of dragoons. The artillery was ordered from New 
Orleans. 

In reply to inquiries by General Taylor of the war department, respect- 
ing the position he should take, he was directed, generally, to be governed 



518 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

by circumstances, to avoid all aggressive measures, and to hold his force 
ready to protect the territory of Texas " to the extent that it had been oc- 
cupied by the people of Texas." The Rio Grande was indicated, by the 
secretary, as the boundary between Mexico and Texas, to which the army 
of occupation under Taylor was to approach, as nearly as prudence would 
permit. For this purpose it was necessary to pass the river Nueces. 

On the 28th of June, Mr. Donelson, then United States minister to 
Texas, to whom General Taylor was referred for advice upon his move- 
ments, wrote him that he had best move his forces, " without delay, to 
the western frontier of Texas," and also informing him that Corpus 
Chrisli, on Aranzas bay (near the mouth of the Nueces), was the best 
point for the assembling of his troops. The same letter also admitted that 
the country between the Nueces and the Rio Grande was in dispute ; the 
Texans holding Corpus Christi, and the Mexicans Santiago, at the mouth 
of the Rio Grande. 

General Taylor embarked at New Orleans in July, 1845, and proceeded 
immediately with the forces under his command, 1,500 in number, to 
Aranzas bay, and in the beginning of August, 1845, had taken the posi- 
tion assigned him by the government. All the troops in the west, the 
northwest, and on the Atlantic, which could be spared, were ordered to 
join him. In November, 1845, by the report of the adjutant-general, his 
army consisted, in the aggregate, of 4,049 officers and men. 

To the terms of the joint resolution of annexation, by the Congress of 
the United States, Texas assented by her ordinance of July, 1845, and, 
having formed her constitution, became virtually a state in the American 
Union. Three days after this (July 7th) the same convention requested 
the president of the United States to occupy the ports of Texas, and send 
an army to their defence. This desire the president of the United States 
immediately complied with (or in fact had already, as has been seen, 
anticipated).* 

At the same time that instructions were sent to General Taylor by the 
war department, a naval force was despatched to the gulf of Mexico to aid 
him in any hostile operations which might occur. 

General Taylor established his headquarters at Corpus Christi, where 
the army of occupation under his command remained encamped over six 
months. On the 8th of March, 1846, agreeably to instructions from the 
president of the United States to General Taylor, the advance of the 
army commenced its march for the Rio Grande, and the fourth day there- 
after the entire forces were moving in a southerly direction over the dis- 
puted territory — the wilderness lying between the Nueces and that river. 
At the Arroya Colorado the troops encountered a body of Mexicans, who 
seemed disposed to dispute their passage. This, however, was not 
attempted, and the Americans continued their march. While approaching 
* Mansfield's History of the Mexican War. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 519 

Point Isabel, General Taylor was met by a deputation of citizens from 
Matainoras, on the Rio Grande, who handed him a protest, signed by the 
prefect of the district, against the occupation of the country by the Ameri- 
can army. At this moment it was discovered that the buildings at Point 
Isabel were in flames, and believing that the place had been set on fire 
by the Mexican authorities, and considering the conflagration as a decided 
evidence of hostility. General Taylor dismissed the deputation, with the 
promise of an answer when he should arrive on the banks of the Rio 
Grande. Point Isabel, a small place with a few mean houses, had been 
selected as a depot for military stores for the American army, being the 
nearest port to Matamoras on the north. To preserve its buildings was 
therefore an object of moment, and the advance of the cavalry arrived in 
season to arrest the progress of the fire, after it had consumed but three 
or four houses. The Mexican port-caplain who committed the act had 
made his escape. 

The arrangements at this post being satisfactorily made, the general, 
with the cavalry, resumed the march toward Matamoras, and was joined 
by General Worth's command, which had encamped on the road. On the 
28th of March, the army arrived on the banks of the Rio Grande, oppo- 
site Matamoras. Fortifications were immediately commenced, and soon 
a fort was erected, furnished with six bastions, and capable of containing 
two thousand men. It commanded the town of Matamoras, and was after- 
ward called Fort Brown. On the other side the Mexicans also erected 
batteries and redoubts, both parties assuming the attitude of belligerents. 
An interview was held by direction of General Taylor, with the military 
authorities in Matamoras, but with no satisfactory result. 

On the 10th of April the first American blood was shed by Mexican 
hands. Colonel Cross, deputy quartermaster-general, having rode out in 
the morning, for exercise, unattended, was killed as was supposed by 
some rancheros attached to the Mexican army ; and his body was found 
on the 20th, when it was honored, by order of General Taylor, by a mili- 
tary funeral becoming the rank and character of the colonel. 

A Mexican army having been concentrated on the Rio Grande, Gen- 
eral Ampudia was placed in command, and arrived in Matamoras on the 
1 1th of April. He had previously attempted to cause desertion among the 
soldiers of foreign birth in the American army, by issuing a circular 
addressed to them, in consequence of which some desertions, but unim- 
portant as to numbers, took place. On the 12th of April, General Ampu- 
dia addressed a letter to General Taylor, concluding as follows : — 

" By explicit and definite orders of my government, which neither can, 
will, nor should, receive new outrages, I require you in all form, and at 
latest in the peremptory term of twenty-four hours, to break up your camp, 
and retire to the other bank of the Nueces river, while our governments 
are regulating the pending question in relation to Texas. If you insist 



520 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

on remaining upon the soil of the department of Tamaulipas, it will clearly 
result that arms, and arms alone, must decide the question ; and in that 
case I advise you that we accept the war to which, with so much injus- 
tice on your part, you provoke us ; and that, on our part, this war shall be 
conducted conformably to the principles established by the most civilized 
nations ; that is to say, that the law of nations and of war shall be the 
guide of my operations ; trusting that on your part the same will be ob- 
served." 

In his reply to this letter from General Ampudia, General Taylor in- 
formed the Mexican commander that, charged as he was in only a milita- 
ry capacity with the performance of specific duties, he could not enter in- 
to a discussion of the international question involved in the advance of 
the American arms, but reminded him that the government of the United 
States had constantly sought a settlement by negotiation of the question 
of boundary. He concludes his letter as follows : — 

" The instructions under which I am acting will not permit me to ret- 
rograde from the position I now occupy. In view of the relations be- 
tween our respective governments, and the individual suffering which 
may result, I regret the alternative which you offer ; but, at the same 
time, wish it understood, that I shall by no means avoid such alternative, 
leaving the responsibility with those who rashly commence hostilities. 
In conclusion, you will permit me to give the assurance that, on my part, 
the laws and customs of war among civilized nations, shall be carefully 
observed." 

To confirm these declarations. General Taylor continued to fortify his 
camp, and to make every disposition to resist an attack. General Am- 
pudia soon gave place, as commanding officer at Matamoras, to General 
Arista, commander-in-chief of the northern division of the JMexican ar- 
my. The reported accession to its force also created new expectations in 
the American camp that a decisive demonstration would soon be made 
against it. On the 19th of April, it was reported to General Taylor that 
two vessels with supplies for the Mexicans in 'Matamoras, were at the 
mouth of the Rio Grande. He immediately ordered a blockade of the 
river and enforced it by placing the United States brig Lawrence and a 
revenue-cutter to guard its mouth. To this act the Mexican general took 
umbrage, and having sent a note of remonstrance to General Taylor, and 
the answer of the American commander being unsatisfactory, the Mexi- 
cans prepared to make an attack upon Fort Brown. 

In the meantime it was evident that Point Isabel was marked out by 
life Mexican commander as a place of contemplated attack, and it was ru- 
mored that a large Mexican force was crossing the Rio Grande for that 
purpose. To ascertain the truth of these reports, General • Taylor sent 
out a scouting party under Captain Thornton, up the river, and a squadron 
of dra"-uons under Captain Ker down the river. The former were sur- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 521 

prised by a party of Mexicans, sixteen were killed and wounded, and the 
remainder nearly all were taken prisoners. Lieutenant Mason was killed 
in the affray. Captain Thornton, at first escaping by an extraordinary 
leap of his horse over a hedge, was afterward captured and taken to 
Matamoras, where he remained for some time, but was finally given up. 
Captain Ker, with his detachment, after reconnoitring the country, return- 
ed, without having fallen in with the Mexicans, Three days after this 
affair, several of Captain Walker's Texan rangers were killed and 
wounded. 

General Taylor, having received by the hands of Captain Walker of 
the Texan rangers information from Major Munroe, the commander at 
Point Isabel, of the attack of a party of Mexicans upon a wagon train, 
and from other causes being anxious for the safety of Point Isabel, where 
all the supplies for his army were deposited, resolved to march with his 
forces to the relief of that post. He left at Fort Brown a sufficient force 
of infantry and artillery to sustain a bombardment. He had previously 
sent a despatch to the governors of Louisiana and Texas, asking an im- 
mediate reinforcement of four regiments of militia from each state. 

The plan of Arista, the Mexican general, it was believed, was to cross 
the Rio Grande, get in the rear of General Taylor's army, capture Point 
Isabel, and then fall on the American army. This plan was only pre- 
vented from being carried out by accidental information, brought to Gen- 
eral Taylor by one of Thornton's party, sent in by the Mexican com- 
mander. The rapid return of the army under General Taylor to Point 
Isabel, was a consequence of this information, and the additional fact that 
the enemy was preparing to cross the river below. Either the Mexican 
army was dilatory in its movement, or the body detailed to cross below 
was unable to form a junction, for the forces of General Taylor, com- 
mencing their march from Fort Brown on the first of May, reached the 
depot at Point Isabel the following day, without encountering the enemy. 

The Mexican general supposed that the movement of the Americans 
was a retreat, and at once ordered a large body of his troops across the 
Rio Grande. On the 3d of May, a heavy bombardment was commenced 
from the batteries in Matamoras on Fort Brown, where a garrison was 
left by General Taylor. During the night of the 4th, the Mexicans also 
erected a battery in the rear of Fort Brown, and the next morning opened 
a fire upon the fort simultaneously with the batteries on the opposite bank 
of the river. The bombardment was continued at intervals until the 10th, 
when the gallant defenders of the fort were relieved by the return of the 
main army under General Taylor, which had just fought the battles of 
Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. In the defence of the fort. Major 
Brown, Captain Hawkins, and Captain Mansfield, were greatly distin- 
guished for skill and gallantry. The former was killed by a shell, and 
was succeeded in command by Captain Hawkins. 



522 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

General Taylor, having garrisoned the depot at Point Isabel with new- 
troops, commenced his return to Fort Brown on the 7th of May, at the 
head of two thousand, three hundred men, and a supply-train of three 
hundred wagons. The army encamped at night about seven miles from 
Point Isabel, and resumed their march on the following morning, the 8th 
of May. At noon, the Mexican forces were observed, drawn up in battle 
array, upon a prairie three miles from Palo Alto. General Taylor imme- 
diately prepared for action, and at two o'clock in the afternoon, gave or- 
ders to advance. The Mexican cannon opened upon them, when the 
American troops were deployed into line, and the light artillery under the 
command of Major Ringgold poured forth its rapid and deadly fire upon 
the enemy. The Mexican cavalry, mostly lancers, were on their left, 
and were forced back by the destructive discharges of artillery. On the 
left wing of the American army, attacks of the Mexicans were met by 
Duncan's battery, and by other troops of that division. The combat on 
the American side was chiefly carried on by artillery ; and never was 
there a more complete demonstration of the superior skill and energy of 
that arm of service, as conducted by the accomplished graduates of West 
Point. He who was the life and leader of the light artillery — Major 
Ringgold — was in this engagement mortally wounded, and died in a few 
days.* 

The battle, which lasted about five hours, terminated with the posses 
sion by the Americans of the field, and the retreat during the night of the 
Mexicans. The strength of the Mexicans was estimated by General 
Taylor at about six thousand men, with seven pieces of artillery and 
eight hundred cavalry. Their loss was at least two hundred killed and 
four hundred wounded ; that of the Americans was nine killed and forty- 
four wounded. 

General Taylor with his troops encamped on the field of battle, and re- 
sumed his march at two, P. M., the following day. In two hours the ar- 
my came in sight of the Mexicans, who had taken a position on a ravine 
called Resaca de la Palma. They had formed a battery so as to sweep 
the road, and were otherwise strongly posted. The action commenced 
by the fire of the Mexican artillery, which the Americans returned by 
discharges from Ridgely's battery, and by the infantry on the wings. In 
this firing the Mexican cannon were well managed by Generals La Vega 
and Reguena, and the efl'ect was severely felt in the American lines. It 
was necessary to dislodge them, and this duty was assigned by General 
Taylor to Captain May of the dragoons. It was here that this officer be- 
came so distinguished by his gallant charge upon the enemy's batteries. 
The artillerymen were dispersed and General La Vega taken prisoner. 
The regiments of infantry now charged the Mexican line and the battle 
was soon ended. Their columns were broken by successive charges and 
* Mansfield's Histoiy of the War. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 523 

unable to bear the continued fire poured upon them by the American in- 
fantry and artillery. The Mexicans fled from the field, rapidly pursued 
by the Americans, and ceased not their flight till those who were not ta- 
ken prisoners had either crossed the Rio Grande or were drowned in its 
waters. The enemy's loss in this engagement was very great ; nearly 
two hundred of their dead were buried by the Americans the day after 
the battle. Their loss in killed, wounded, and missing, in the two afl^airs 
of the 8th and 9th, was estimated by General Taylor at one thousand 
men. The loss of the Americans was thirty-nine killed and eighty-three 
wounded, in the last battle. The actual number of American troops en- 
gaged with the enemy, on the 9th, did not exceed seventeen hundred, 
while that of the Mexican army, which had been reinforced after the ac- 
tion of the 8th, was estimated at six thousand. 

In a detailed report of these battles. General Taylor remarked : " Our 
victory has been decisive. A small force has overcome immense odds 
of the best troops that Mexico can furnish — veteran regiments, perfectly 
equipped and appointed. Eight pieces of artillery, several colors and 
standards, a great number of prisoners, including fourteen officers, and a 
large amount of baggage and public property, have fallen into our hands. 
The causes of victory are doubtless to be found in the superior quality of 
our officers and men." 

In these engagements. General Taylor displayed the utmost coolness 
and bravery — exposing himself in the most dangerous positions, and en- 
couraging the troops by his heroic example. After the battles, his atten- 
tion to the wounded and the dying, whether friend or foe, evinced that 
sympathy with suff'ering humanity which is ever inseparable from true 
courage.* 

The intelligence of hostilities on the Rio Grande, occasioned a power- 
ful excitement in the United States. Congress was then in session, and 
the president, on the receipt of the news of the capture of Captain Thorn- 
ton's parly, immediately sent in his special message of May 11, 1846, in 
which he declared that the Mexican government, had " at last invaded our 
territory, and shed the blood of our fellow-citizens on our own soil." Con- 
gress with less than two days' deliberation, on the 13th of May, declared 
that " by the act of the republic of Mexico, war exists between that gov- 
ernment and the United States ;" and at the same time passed a law 
authorizing the president to accept the services of fifty thousand volun- 
teers, and appropriating ten millions of dollars toward carrying on the war. 
The intention was to put an end to the war by a vigorous effort, and deci- 
sive victories. 

Four days before this declaration by Congress, as we have seen, the 
decisive battle of Resaca de la Palma had been fought, and the army of 
Arista pursued beyond the Rio Grande. The Mexican general saved 

* Mansfield. 



524 " BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

himself by flight, and quite unattended, he made his way across the river. 
General La Vega and a few other officers were sent on parole to New 
Orleans. 

On the 11th of May, General Taylor leaving Colonel Twiggs in com- 
mand of his army, repaired to Point Isabel, for the purpose of arranging 
with Commodore Connor of the gulf squadron, a combined attack on Mat- 
amoras. At Point Isabel a command of regulars and volunteers just 
arrived from Louisiana and Alabama, was organized under Colonel Wil- 
son ; and on the 15th, marched for Brazos, and with the aid of the squad- 
ron, crossed the river at its mouth, and marched upon the town, which the 
colonel occupied on the 17th of May ; being the first landing of an Amer- 
ican force on the right bank of the Rio Grande. The day before this expe- 
dition left Point Isabel, General Taylor also set out on his return to the 
camp on the river, where he speedily arrived, and at once commenced prepa- 
rations for an attack on Matamoras. On the 17th of May, Arista sent a 
deputation to Taylor to ask for an armistice, until the two governments 
should settle the difficulties pending. This was refused by the American 
general, as it was apparent that time was only wanted to remove the mu- 
nitions of war from Matamoras. But during the conference. Arista suc- 
ceeded in taking away part of the military stores, and with the fragment of 
his army he abandoned Matamoras, and fled precipitately toward Monterey. 

On the 18th of May, General Taylor with his army, crossed the Rio 
Grande, and entered Matamoras without opposition. Formal possession 
was taken of the city, and Colonel Twiggs appointed military governor. 
The day following, Lieutenant-Colonel Garland, with the cavalry of the 
army, was sent in pursuit of the Mexicans under Arista, but being igno- 
rant of the country, which they found so barren as to afford insuflicient 
support to the horses, the American troops were forced to return, after pur- 
suing the flying enemy about sixty miles. 

From May until September, General Taylor remained in camp with his 
army at Matamoras, awaiting the orders of his government, receiving re- 
inforcements, and making preparations for marching into the interior. 
His operations were paralyzed during the summer, by the want of suita- 
ble boats to navigate the Rio Grande. In the meantime, the executive 
and Congress had highly approved of his course, and on the 30th of May, 
the president transmitted to him a commission as major-general by bre- 
vet, bearing the date of the battle of the 9th of May. On the 29th of 
June, he was promoted to the full rank of major-general. 

On the day that General Taylor entered Matamoras, a United States 
squadron arrived off Vera Cruz, and commenced the blockade of that and 
other ports on the gulf of Mexico ; and during the summer the towns of 
Mier, Camargo, Revilla, and Reynosa, submitted to the Americans, and 
became stations for diff'erent divisions of the army. Camargo, a town 
about one hundred and eighty miles above the mouth of the Rio Grande, 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 525 

was the point selected as the depot of supplies. Here the various divis- 
ions which were to compose the particular army of General Taylor were 
gradually concentrated. 

The reinforcements and supplies for the American army in Mexico 
which had been forwarded during the summer were at length sufficient to 
justify an advance into the interior. The Rio Grande was assumed as 
the military base line of operations. The entire army of General Tay- 
lor consisted of about nine thousand men. A small portion was assigned 
to garrisons, while the main body, numbering six thousand, six hundred, 
was destined for IMonterey, the capital city of New Leon, and of the 
northern division of Mexico. The city contained about fifteen thousand 
inhabitants and is situated on a branch of the San Juan river, near the 
base of the Sierra ]Madre mountains. Both the natural and artificial de- 
fences of Monterey were very strong ; but neither the extent of the de- 
fences, nor the number of the garrisons within them, seem to have been 
fully known to the American army previous to its arrival in front of the 
city. 

The army under Taylor was in three divisions commanded respectively 
by Brigadier-Generals Twiggs (who had been promoted to that station) 
and Worth, and Major-General Butler. On the 20th of August, General 
Worth began his march for Monterey; and on the 5th of September, 
General Taylor left Camargo ; a garrison of two thousand men remain- 
ing behind. Worth reached Ceralvo, about seventy miles, on the 25th of 
August, and at that point sent out reconnoitring parties who discovered 
strong bodies of the enemy in front. He advanced to the village of Ma- 
rin, where the entire army was in a few days concentrated, under the 
command of General Taylor. On the 19th of September, the army ar- 
rived at Walnut Springs, three miles from Monterey, after a few skirmishes 
only with parties of Mexican cavalry. 

Monterey was then under the command of General Ampudia, and the 
garrison under his command consisted of about seven thousand regular 
troops, and two or three thousand irregular troops. Notwithstanding this 
strong garrison, superior in numbers to the American army, General Taylor 
thought it possible to carry the place by storm, with the bayonet and artille- 
ry. Reconnoisances of the works were made on the evening of the 19th.* 

Besides the numerous and well-constructed fortresses mounted with 
heavy cannon, which had been erected for the defence of Monterey ; the 
plan of the city itself is well adapted to defensive warfare. The streets 
being straight, a few pieces of artillery can command their entire length. 
The stone walls of the houses rise above the roofs, thus forming regular 
parapets which afford thorough protection to the defenders. Each dwel- 
ling is thus a separate castle, and the whole city one grand fortification, 
suggested by nature and consummated by art. 

* Mansfield. 



526 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

On the night of the 20th of September, General Worth's advanced col- 
umns marched and occupied for the night a defensive position on the Sal- 
tillo road, just without the range of the enemy's batteries. The attack 
commenced on the 21st, by General Worth's forces, and continued, in 
connexion with other divisions of the army, all the next day. On the 23d, 
the assault became general, and a desperate conflict ensued in the streets 
of the city. From the strong stone houses, volleys of musketry dealt 
death in all directions among the American troops, but they steadily ad- 
vanced from house to house, and from square to square, until the main 
body of the enemy had retired from the lower part of the city, to make a 
stand behind their barricades. 

General Taylor then withdrew his troops to the works which had been 
evacuated by the Mexicans, and determined to concert with General 
Worth a combined attack upon the town the following day. But early in 
the morning of the 24th, General Ampudia sent a communication to the 
American commander, proposing to evacuate the town General Taylor 
acceded to a personal interview with General Ampudia, as the latter had 
desired, and it was finally agreed that the city should be surrendered to 
General Taylor, and the material of war, with certain exceptions, and the 
Mexican troops were allowed to evacuate the following day. As soon as 
they had left, the division under General Worth was quartered in the city, 
and quiet reigned among the inhabitants. The American troops during 
the various contests at Monterey, had twelve officers and one hundred and 
eight men killed ; thirty-one officers, and three hundred and thirty-seven 
wounded. The Mexican loss was not known, but believed considerably 
to exceed these numbers. The force under General Taylor at this siege 
was four hundred and twenty-five officers, and six thousand, two hundred 
and twenty men, accompanied with nineteen cannon. The town and works 
were armed with forty-two pieces of cannon well supplied with ammunition, 
and manned, as before staled, with a force of nearly ten thousand men. 

In the transactions attending the capture of the city. General Taylor 
had hoped to secure the approbation of government. In this, however, 
he was disappointed. Not only were the terms of capitulation consider- 
ed as entirely too lenient, but he was even blamed for not having carried 
the defences by assault, and thus making the garrison unconditional pris- 
oners. Time, however, has shown, that by such a course, his little army 
would have endured appalling loss, without corresponding advantages ; 
and that General Taylor's course, dictated as it was by humanity and 
honor, was the most advantageous to his troops and to the country that 
he could possibly have adopted. 

General Taylor now established his headquarters at Monterey, despatch- 
ing General Worth, on the r2th of November, with twelve hundred men 
and eight pieces of artillery, to Saltillo ; and General Wool, who was on 
his march from Texas, toward Chihuahua, was directed by Taylor, in 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 527 

November, to abandon the expedition, and advance witli his cohmin of 
two thousand and four hundred men to Parras, a place south of SaUillo. 
Here the army of General Wool remained for a short time until, in tho 
month of December, it joined the division of Worth at Saltillo. 

On the 13th of November, General Taylor followed General Worth's 
division to Saltillo, escorted by two squadrons of dragoons. This town 
is the capital of the state of Coahuila, and is distant sixty-five miles south- 
west from Monterey. It was considered by Taylor as an important point 
for occupation, for three reasons : first, as a necessary outpost of the main 
force at Monterey, covering as it does the defile which leads from the low- 
country to the table land, and also the route to Monclova ; secondly,. as 
controlling a region from which to obtain supplies of provisions, viz., the 
fertile country around Parras ; thirdly, as the capital of Coahuila, which 
renders it important in a political point of view. 

General Taylor represented to the war department the difficulties to be 
encountered in a forward movement upon the city of San Luis Potosi, 
and with regard to a proposed expedition against Vera Cruz, he gave it as 
his opinion that twenty-five thousand troops would be properly required to 
take possession of Vera Cruz, and march thence against the city of Mex- 
ico. He proposed to proceed with the preparation for a movement on 
Tampico, if approved by the department, but his designs were not carried 
into effect. A movement against San Luis, he remarked, should not be 
undertaken except with a force so large as to render success certain. 
That force he considered should be at least 20,000 strong, as he supposed 
the Mexicans able to concentrate a force of 40,000 to 50,000 men at San 
Luis, which is a city of about 60,000 inhabitants, distant three hundred 
miles from Saltillo, nearly six hundred miles from the Rio Grande, and 
five hundred from the city of Mexico. 

Having made arrangements for the occupation of the state of Coahuila, 
and left with General Worth at Saltillo a squadron of dragoons, General 
Taylor returned to Monterey, where, on the 25th of Novemher, he learned 
officially of the occupation of Tampico by the naval forces under Commo- 
dore Perry. On the requisition of the commodore, with the approval of 
General Taylor, a regiment and six companies from Taylor's army were 
ordered to Tampico to garrison that town. 

On the 15th of December, General Taylor left Monterey for Victoria, 
the capital of Tamaulipas, which place he designed to occupy, and con- 
centrate there a portion of his army. On his way thither he received 
information from General Worth at Saltillo, that Santa Anna, then in com- 
mand of the Mexican army at San Luis, designed taking advantage of 
the diversion of force toward Victoria, by a rapid movement, strike a 
heavy blow at the American troops at Saltillo, and, if successful, another 
at General Wool's force at Parras. General Taylor, therefore, thought 
proper to return to Monterey with the regular forces, and thus be in a posi- 



528 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR, 

• tion to reinforce Saltillo, if necessary. The volunteers under General 
Quitman were ordered to continue their march and effect a junction with 
General Patterson, at Victoria. At the same time, Generals Butler and 
Wool moved rapidly from Monterey and Parras to join General Worth, 
who had advised them of a probable attack on his position. General Tay- 
lor had proceeded beyond Monterey, on his way to Saltillo, when, on the 
20th of December, he received information that the expected concentra- 
tion and movement of the Mexican troops upon Saltillo had not taken 
place. Deeming the force present and sent forward to that place suffi- 
cient to repel any demonstration from San Luis Potosi, General Taylor 
again marched with General Twiggs's division toward Victoria. 

On the 29th of December, General Quitman entered Victoria without 
opposition. The enemy had a body of 1,500 cavalry in the town, which 
fell back as the Americans approached. General Taylor arrived there 
with the troops of General Twiggs on the 4th of January, and was joined 
on the same day by the force which General Patterson conducted from 
Matamoras. The force collected at Victoria was over 5,000 strong. 

While General Taylor was thus maturing his operations, the American 
government had determined to concentrate the largest possible number of 
regulars and experienced volunteers in the attack upon Vera Cruz, and 
the march thence to the city of Mexico. General Scott was charged 
with the command of the expedition, and immediately took measures to 
secure its success. On the 25th of November, General Scott wrote Gen- 
eral Taylor from New York^ informing him that he expected to be on the 
Rio Grande about the 20th of December, on his way to carry out the ob- 
ject of an expedition, the particulars of which, as despatches had been 
lost, he did not deem it prudent to communicate. " I shall be obliged," he 
says, " to take from you most of the gallant officers and men (regulars and 
volunteers) whom you have so long and so nobly commanded. I am 
afraid that I shall, by imperious necessity — the approach of yellow fever 
on the gulf coast — reduce you, for a time, to stand on the defensive. This 
will be infinitely painful to you, and for that reason distressing to me. But 
I rely upon your patriotism to submit to the temporary sacrifice with 
cheerfulness." 

In consequence of the plan thus declared, the regular troops (with the 
exception of a very small body of the troops which composed his army in 
the month of November), the division of General Worth at Saltillo, of 
General Patterson at Victoria, the brigades of Generals Quitman and 
Twiggs at the same place, and all other corps which could possibly be 
drawn from the field of operations, of which the Rio Grande was the base, 
were ordered to Vera Cruz. To maintain his position at Saltillo, General 
Taylor was left with about five thousand men, only five hundred being 
regulars. On parting Avith the troops who had so faithfully served with 
him, he issued an order expressing his deep sensibility and attachment 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 629 

toward them, and his deep regret that he could not participate with those 
who were making their first campaign in its eventful scenes. To all, both 
officers and men, he extended " his heartfelt wishes for their continued 
success and happiness, confident that their achievements on another thea- 
tre would redound to the credit of their country and its arms." 

In January, 1847, General Taylor left Victoria, and established his 
headquarters at Monterey, where, early in February, his force, including 
recent reinforcements of volunteers, amounted to between 6,000 and 7,000 
men. Soon after reaching Monterey he received information that a party 
of dragoons had been surprised at Encarnacion, also that another party, 
with Captain Cassius M. Clay and Majors Borland and Gaines were 
taken prisoners. 

While the United States were preparing to attack Vera Cruz, and en- 
deavoring to maintain the positions gained by the northern divisions of the 
army, under Generals Taylor, Wool, and Kearny, Mexico was also pre- 
paring for a decisive blow. In December, the Mexican Congress assem- 
bled at the capital. Santa Anna was elected provisional president, and 
Gomez Farias vice president, of the republic. The command of the army 
was undertaken by Santa Anna personally, he having recently returned to 
Mexico from exile at Havana, and devoted himself with zeal to restore 
domestic order, to unite parlies, to devise measures of finance, and to raise 
and equip troops. Nonvithstanding every embarrassment, Santa Anna 
had concentrated at San Luis Polosi, before the end of January, 1847, au- 
army of more than 21,000 men, prepared to march thence against the 
divisions of General Taylor's force between Saltillo and the Rio Grande. 
On the first o{ February the Mexican army was moving rapidly upon that 
town, upward oi' three hundred miles distant from San Luis. The march. 
was arduous, from the great distance over a desert, want of water and 
provisions, and from the severity of the weather. On the 20Lh of Febru- 
ary they reached Encarnacion, and the next day advanced on Saltillo.* 

The army of Santa Anna was admirably equipped. It was composed 
of the flower of the Mexican nation, and numbered more than four to one 
of the army which it came to conquer. Hope and dire necessity both 
urged them to victory. The commander, Santa Anna, had well consid- 
ered the advantages he would derive from this movement, if successful, 
•and all the chances were in his favor. Could he have driven General 
Taylor from his position at Buena Vista, he would have swept down to 
Camargo, and over the whole valley of the Rio Grande. All the muni- 
tions of war of the Americans would have fallen into his hands. If de- 
feated, Santa Anna well knew that his moral power over his army would 
be broken. The fate of his country seemed suspended on the issue of a 
single battle. His own fame, his place in history, were both to be deci- 
ded in the coming conflict.! 

* Fry's Life of Taylor. t Mansfield. 

34 



530 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

General Wool had continued in command of the division of the Amer- 
ican army at Salliilo. Near the end of January, he advised General 
Taylor of the rumored advance of Santa Anna, then organizing his forces 
at San Luis, as has been mentioned. In consequence of this informa- 
tion, although at that time indefinite, General Taylor determined at once 
to meet the enemy, if opportunity should be offered ; and leaving a garri- 
son of fifteen hundred men at Monterey, he took up his line of march on 
the 31st with a reinforcement for the column of General Wool. On the 
2d of February, he reached Saltillo, and on the 4th he advanced to Agua 
Nueva, a strong position on the San Luis road, twenty miles south of Saltil- 
lo. Here he encamped until the 21st, when he received intelligence that 
Santa Anna was advancing with his whole army. Having carefully ex- 
amined the various positions and defiles of the mountains, Taylor decided 
that Buena Vista, a strong mountain pass, eleven miles nearer Saltillo, was 
the most favorable point to make a stand against a force so overwhelming. 
He therefore fell back to that place, and at noon o.f the 21st, encamped to 
await the' approach of Santa Anna, then within one day's march of this 
position. 

The position of the American army at this moment was most critical. 
The regular troops had been withdrawn, with the exception of a few com- 
panies of artillery and dragoons. The volunteers, of which the army 
was mainly composed, had received some instruction in the regular duties 
of the camp, but had not attained that perfection in discipline which gives 
confidence in military operations.* 

The position selected by General Taylor to receive whh his small ar- 
my, the forces of the Mexican chief — five times the number of the Amer- 
icans — was one of remarkable natural strength. It was at a point where 
the main road from San Luis to Saltillo, passes between closely-approxi- 
mating chains of mountains. The bases of these mountains are cut, by 
the occasional torrents of rain, into numerous deep gullies, almost impas- 
sable, owing to the rugged and steep banks leaving between them elevated 
table-lands or plateaus, of various extent. On the west of the road, and 
nearly parallel to it, between Agua Nueva and Buena Vista, is also a ditch, 
forming one of the mountain drains on that side. The American army 
was drawn up at nearly right angles to the road, its chief force being on 
the east of it, occupying a large plateau commanding the mountain side. 
Facing the south, this force constituted the left wing. A battery of light 
artillery occupied the road, and the right wing rested on the opposite hill. 
In this altitude, the Americans awaited the advance of the Mexicans, on 
the morning of the 22d of February, the birthday of Washington. 

On the 21st, General Taylor had proceeded with a small force to Sal- 
tillo (nine miles from Buena Vista), to make some arrangements for the 
defence of the town, leaving General Wool in command of the troops. 

* Mansfield. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 531 

Before those arrangements at Saltillo were completed, on the morning of 
the 22d, Taylor was advised that the enemy was in sight, ad^^ancing. 
Hastening to the battle-field, he found that the Mexican cavalry advance 
was in front, having marched from Encarnacion, over forty miles distant, 
at eleven o'clock on the day previous, and driving in an American mounted 
force left at Agua Nueva, to cover the removal of public stores. 

The features of the ground occupied by the American troops were such 
as nearly to paralyze the artillery and cavalry of the Mexicans, while their 
infantry could not derive all the advantages of its numerical superiority. 
At eleven o'clock, General Taylor received from General Santa Anna, a 
summons to surrender at discretion, to which the American commander 
immediately replied, " declining to accede to the request." The enemy 
still forbore his attack, evidently waiting for the arrival of his rear col- 
umns. The Mexican light troops commenced the action by engaging the 
Americans on the extreme left, and kept up a sharp fire, climbing the 
mountain-side, and apparently endeavoring to gain the flank of the Amer- 
icans. The skirmishing of the light troops was kept up until dark; when 
General Taylor became convinced that no serious attack Avould be made 
before morning, and returned, with a regiment and squadron of dragoons, 
to Saltillo. The troops bivouacked without fires, and laid upon their arms. 
A body of fifteen hundred Mexican cavalr_y under General Minon, had en- 
tered the valley through a narrow pass east of Saltillo, and had evidently 
been thrown in the rear of the Americans, to break up and harass the re- 
treat which was so confidently expected by Santa Anna. 

Having made the necessary dispositions for the protection of the rear, 
General Taylor returned to Buena Vista, on the morning of the 23d, order- 
ing forward all the available troops from Saltillo, The action had com- 
menced before his arrival on the field. 

During the night of the 22d, the Mexicans had thrown a body of light 
troops on the mountain-side, with the purpose of outflanking the left of the 
Americans ; and it was here that the action of the 23d, commenced at an 
early hour. The American riflemen in this position maintained their 
ground handsomely against a greatly superior force. About eight o'clock, a 
strong demonstration was made against the American centre, a heavy Mexi- 
can column moving along the road ; which was soon dispersed by the fire 
from Captain Washington's battery. In the meantime, a large force of 
Mexican infantry and cavalry was concentrated under cover of the ridges, 
with the obvious intention of forcing the left of the Americans. It was 
found impossible to check the advance of the Mexican infantry, although 
the American artillery was served against it with great efl^ect, under the or- 
ders of Captain O'Brien. When General Taylor arrived upon the field, 
the left wing of his army had become completely outflanked, and the enemy 
was pouring masses of infantry and cavalry along the base of the mountain ; 
thus gaining the rear of the Americans in great force. Taylor immediately 



532 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

directed the left to be strengthened hy detachments of Captains Bragg- and 
Sherman's artillery, also by bodies of cavalry. The action was for a long 
time warmly sustained at that point, the enemy making efforts both with in- 
fantry and cavalry, against the Ainerican line, and being always repulsed 
with heavy loss. 

At one period, the position of that portion of the Mexican army which 
had gained the rear of the Americans was very critical, and it seemed 
doubtful whether it could regain the main body. At that moment. Gen- 
eral Taylor received from General Santa Anna a message by a staff-officer, 
desiring to know what he wanted. Taylor despatched General Wool to the 
Mexican commander, and ordered his own troops to cease firing. Gen- 
eral Wool could not, however, cause the Mexicans to cease their fire, and 
returned, without having an interview with Santa Anna. The extfeme 
right of the Mexicans retreated along the base of the mountain, and final- 
ly, in spite of the efforts of the Americans, effected a junction with the 
remainder of the army. 

During the day, the Mexican cavalry under General Minon, had ascend- 
ed the elevated plain above Saltillo, and occupied the road from that city 
to the field of battle. Several skirmishes took place between them and 
the small bodies of troops left by General Taylor to protect his rear. 
General Minon made one or two efforts with his cavalry to charge the 
artillery, but this body of Mexicans were finally driven back in a con- 
fused mass, and did not again appear upon the plain. 

In the meantime the firing had partially ceased upon the principal field, 
at Buena Vista. The enemy seemed to confine his efforts to the protec- 
tion of his artillery, and General Taylor had left the plateau for a mo- 
ment, when he was recalled thither by a heavy musketry fire. He then 
discovered that a portion of his infantry, the Illinois and Kentucky volun- 
teers, had engaged a greatly superior force of the enemy — evidently his 
reserve — and that they had been overwhelmed by numbers. The mo- 
ment was most critical. Captain O'Brien had lost his two pieces of ar- 
tillery, which had been taken by the Mexicans — his infantry support be- 
ing entirely routed. Captain Bragg, who had just arrived from the left, 
was ordered at once into battery, without any infantry to support him, and 
at the imminent risk of losing his guns, this officer came rapidly into ac- 
tion, the Mexican line being but a few yards from the muzzle of his pieces. 
The first discharge of canister caused the enemy to hesitate, the second 
and third drove him back in disorder, and saved the day. The second 
Kentucky regiment, which had advanced beyond supporting distance in. 
this affair, was driven back and closely pressed by the enemy's cavalry. Ta- 
king a ravine which led in the direction of Captain Washington's battery, their 
pursuers became exposed to his fire, which soon checked and drove them 
back with loss. In the meantime, the rest of the American artillery had 
taken position on the plateau, covered by the Mississippi and third Indi- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 533 

ana regiments, the former of vvliich had reached the ground in time to 
pour a fire into the right flank of the enemy, and thus contribute to his re- 
pulse. In this last conflict the Americans sustained a very heavy loss. 
Colonel Hardin of Illinois, and Colonels M'Kee and Clay of Kentucky, 
fell at this time, while gallantly leading their commands. Colonel Yell of 
Arkansas, and Adjutant Vaughan of Kentucky, had previously fallen. 

No further attempt was made by the Mexicans to force the position of 
the Americans, and the approach of night gave an opportunity to pay prop- 
er attention to the wounded, and also to refresh the soldiers, who had been 
exhausted by incessant watchfulness and combat. Though the night was 
severely cold, the troops were compelled for the most part, to bivouack 
without fires, expecting that morning would renew the conflict. During 
the night the wounded were removed to Saltillo, and every preparation 
made to receive the enemy, should he again attack the American position. 
Seven fresh companies were drawn from the town, and Brigadier-General 
Marshall, with a reinforcement of Kentucky cavalry, and four pieces of 
artillery, was near at hand, when it was discovered that the enemy had 
abandoned his position during the night. Scouts soon ascertained that 
the Mexican army had fallen back upon Agua Nueva. The great dispar- 
ity of numbers, and the exhaustion of Taylor's troops, rendered it inexpe- 
dient and hazardous to attempt pursuit, A staflf officer was despatched to 
General Santa Anna to negotiate an exchange of prisoners, which was 
satisfactorily completed on the following day. The Americans collected 
and buried their own dead, and the Mexican wounded, of which a large 
number had been left upon the field, were removed to Saltillo, and ren- 
dered as comfortable as circumstances would permit.* 

On the evening of the 26lh it was ascertained that, excepting a small 
body of cavalry left at Agua Nueva, the Mexican army, had retreated in 
the direction of San Luis Potosi. On the 27th, General Taylor advanced 
with his troops and resumed his former camp at Agua Nueva, the Mex- 
ican rear guard evacuating the place as the Americans approached, leaving 
a considerable number of wounded behind. It was Taylor's purpose to 
beat up the enemy's quarters at Encarnacion early the next morning, but 
upon examination, the weak condition of the cavalry horses rendered it 
unadvisable to attempt so long a march without water. Colonel Belknap, 
with a detachment of troops, was despatched to Encarnacion on the 1st of 
March. Some two hundred wounded and about sixty Mexican soldiers 
-were found there, the army of Santa Anna, having passed on in the direc- 
tion of Matehula, with greatly reduced numbers, and sufl'ering much from 
hunoer. The dead and dying were strewed upon the road, and crowded 
the buildings of the hacienda. 

The American loss at the battle of Buena Vista, was 267 killed, 456 
wounded, and 23 missing ; that of the Mexicans in killed and wounded 
* General Taylor's official despatch. 



534 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

was estimated by General Taylor, and admitted by Santa Anna, to exceed 
1500. At least 500 of their killed were left upon the field of battle. The 
loss of the Americans was especially severe in officers — 28 having been 
killed upon the field, and 41 wounded. 

In a private letter to General E. G. W. Butler, General Taylor referred 
to certain incidents of the battle. Among other remarks he says : " For 
several hours the fate of the day was extremely doubtful ; so much so, that 
I was urged by some of the most experienced officers to fall back and take 
a new position. This I knew it would never do to attempt with volun- 
teers, and at once declined it. Between the several deep ravines, there 
were portions of level land from one to four hundred yards in extent, 
Avhich became alternately points of attack and defence, after our left Avas 
turned, by both sides. These extended along and near the base of the 
mountain for about two miles, and the struggle for them may be very ap- 
propriately compared to a game of chess. Night put a stop to the con- 
test, and, strange to say, both armies occupied the same positions they did 
in the morning before the battle commenced. Our artillery did more than 
wonders. 

" We lay on our arms all night, as we had done the two preceding ones, 
without fires, ready and expecting to renew the contest the next morning ; 
but we found at daylight the enemy had retreated during the night. 

" I hope the greater portion of the good people of the country will be 
satisfied with what we have done on this occasion. I flatter myself that 
our compelling a Mexican army of more than twenty thousand men, com- 
pletely organized, and led by their chief magistrate, to retteat, with less 
than five hundred regulars, and about four thousand volunteers, will meet 
their approval. I had not a single company of regular infantry ; the 
whole was taken from me." 

The news of the victory of Buena Vista was received in the United 
States as the crowning evidence of Taylor's generalship. He had as- 
sumed the responsibility of holding his position beyond Monterey. Know- 
ing his resources and trusting in his officers and troops, he hesitated not 
to risk everything on the field against the host of Santa Anna. He has 
himself done justice to the brilliant part which General Wool bore in the 
action, approving all the preliminary dispositions of that able commander. 
He has also borne testimony to the services of all others who took part 
in the action, and expressed his sympathies with the friends of those who 
had fallen. It was the province of the nation, in return, to acknowl- 
edge the surpassing merit of the commander-in-chief. That merit was 
acknowledged in every form of popular rejoicing and congratulation. 
Cities and states were emulous in exhibitions of sympathy for his trials, 
exultation for his success, and respect for his character.* 

The importance of the victory at Buena Vista (says Mansfield) carx 

*rr}''8 Life of Taylor. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 535 

not be exnggerated. It secured the whole frontier of the Rio Grande, 
and struck terror and dismay into the hearts of the Mexican nation. It 
was, in fact, the first great turning point of the war. 

General Taylor, on the 2d of March, intrusted to one of his aids, Mr. 
Thomas L. Crittenden, of Kentucky, the official reports of the battle of 
Buena Vista, to be conveyed to Washington. He was escorted by Major 
Giddings, commanding 260 infantry and two pieces of artillery, and hav- 
ing in charge also one hundred and fifty wagons. Near Ceralvo, on tho 
road to Camargo, the escort was attacked by 1,600 Mexican cavalry and 
infantry, under Generals Urrea and Romaro. After a brief and gallant 
struggle the enemy was repulsed, with the loss of 45 killed and wounded. 
The Americans lost 17 men, of whom 15 were teamsters. General Tay- 
lor, subsequently hearing that Urrea was in command of a still larger force, 
pursued him with about 1,200 volunteers, and two companies of Bragg's 
artillery, as far as Caidereta, where he learned that the Mexicans had 
crossed the mountains. General Taylor then returned to the camp at 
Walnut Springs, three miles from Monterey, where he established his 
headquarters. 

The operations of General Scott, at Vera Cruz and other points on the 
gulf of Mexico, and the brilliant series of successes of that officer and 
the troops under his command, in the march from Vera Cruz to the city 
of Mexico, terminating in the capture and occupation of that capital by 
the American troops, in September, transferred the seat of war to that 
quarter. Consequently, General Taylor remained for some months ia 
comparative inactivity, at his headquarters near Monterey. Actual hostili- 
ties with Mexico having been practically brought to an end, with the ex- 
ception of skirmishes with guerilla parties. General Taylor obtained per- 
mission to visit his family at Baton Rouge, in Louisiana, from whom he 
had now been absent for about two 3'ears. 

Accordingly, in November, 1847, he left the command of the army 
with General Wool, and took his departure for the United States, by the 
way of Camargo, Matamoras, and Point Isabel, at which last place he 
embarked in a steamer for New Orleans, and arrived below that city on 
the 1st of December. He landed at the barracks, where he met his fam- 
ily, and remained two days. He was greeted by salutes of cannon, dis- 
play of flags, and the cheers of the people. On the 3d the general pro- 
ceeded to the city, where he was received with transports of enthusiasm 
and joy by his fellow-citizens anxious to welcome him to his home. 
Along the shores of the Mississippi, as far as the eye could reach, gay 
streamers floated on the breeze from ships of every nation, and the nu- 
merous steamboats on the river added to the interest of the scene. 

General Taylor was accompanied by several officers of his staff, among 
whom was Major Bliss, assistant adjutant-general, who had accompanied 
him in all his campaigns and battles in Mexico. On landing at New 



536 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

Orleans, a vast procession was formed, and the general was conducted to 
the St. Charles hotel, where he received the calls of several thousand 
citizens. To the address of the mayor, welcoming him to the city, the 
general made a modest and appropriate reply, expressive of his gratitude 
at this reception by the people of New Orleans. On the following day 
he visited the Roman catholic cathedral, and was welcomed in an eloquent 
address by Bishop Blanc. A magnificent sword that had been voted by 
the legislature of Louisiana, was presented by Governor Johnson, with 
appropriate remarks, to which General Taylor replied in language of deep 
feeling at the honor done him. 

On the 5th of December, General Taylor left the city in a steamer, for his 
home in Baton Rouge. On the way thither he was greeted with the most 
enthusiastic cheers from people on the banks of the river, and on board 
of steamers and other vessels. From that time he remained to enjoy the 
quiet of domestic retirement, of which he had so long been deprived, until 
summoned by the people to accept of new honors, and to enter upon the 
duties of the most important office in their gift. 

The brilliant achievements of Taylor during his campaigns in Mexico, 
so much attracted the admiration of the people of the United States, that 
a strong desire was early manifested by his fellow-citizens of various 
political parties, to place him in nomination as a candidate for president 
of the republic. His official despatches and private letters confirmed the 
favorable opinion generally entertained respecting his ability to fill the 
highest station with credit to himself and benefit to the nation — and the 
excellence of his private character, as well as his sterling good sense, 
was acknowledged by all. Although his political opinions were known 
to coincide with those of the whig party, he had never taken an active 
part in political contests ; many of the democratic party, therefore, avowed 
their determination to support him as a candidate for the presidency, but 
the leaders of that party refused to acknowledge his claims. A large 
portion of the whig party, particularly in the southern and southwestern 
states, early saw in the popularity attached to his name, the great proba- 
bility of success in the presidential election if he could be made the can- 
didate of the party, and consequently used every effiart to effect such a 
result. The attention, also, of citizens in several of the states, organized 
as the native American party, was turned toward General Taylor as a 
candidate for the presidency immediately after his brilliant victories on the 
Rio Grande and in Mexico. One of the earliest meetings of the people in 
favor of his nomination for president, was held at Trenton, New Jersey, 
on the llih of June, 1846 ; this was followed by a similar meeting in the 
city of New York, on the 18th of the same month. Both of these 
meetings were called without distinction of party, soon after the recep- 
tion of the news of the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma. 
Taylor's nomination for the presidency was proposed to him by one of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 537 

native x\inerican party, in March, 1 847. While he did not positively refuse 
to allow his name to be used in that connexion, he stated in reply, April 28, 
1847, that he could not, while the country was involved in vvar, and while his 
duty called him to take part in the operations against the enemy, acknowl- 
edge any ambition beyond that of bestowing all his best exertions toward 
obtaining an adjustment of our difficulties with Mexico. Subsequently 
he expressed a willingness to become a candidate for the presidency, pro- 
vided that the call came from the spontaneous action and free will of the 
nation at large, and void of the slightest agency of his own. 

The following letters, respecting his nomination and his political prin- 
ciples, give his views on those points. 

"Baton Rouge, La., January 30, 1848. 

" Sir : Your communication of the 15th instant has been received, and 
the suggestions therein offered duly considered. 

" In reply to your inquiries, I have again to repeat, that I have neither 
the power nor the desire to dictate to the American people the exact man- 
ner in which they should proceed to nominate for the presidency of the 
United States. If they desire such a result, they must adopt the means 
best suited, in their opinion, to the consummation of the purpose ; and 
if they think fit to bring me before them for this office, through their 
legislatures, mass meetings, or conventions, I can not object to their des- 
ignating these bodies as whig, democrat, or native. But in being thus 
nominated, I must insist on the condition — and my position on this point 
is immutable — that I shall not be brought forward by them as the candi- 
date of their party, or considered as the exponent of their party doctrines. 

" In conclusion, I have to repeat, that if I were nominated for the presi- 
dency, by any body of my fellow-citizens, designated by any name they 
might choose to adopt, I should esteem it an honor, and would accept such 
nomination, provided it had been made entirely independent of party con- 
siderations. 

" I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, ' "Z. Taylor. 
" Peter Sken Smith, Esq., Philadelphia." 

" Baton Rouge, April 22, 1848. 

" Dear Sir : My opinions have been so often misconceived and mis- 
represented, that I deem it due to myself, if not to my friends, to make a 
brief exposition of them upon the topics to which you have called my 
attention. 

" I have consented to the use of my name as a candidate for the presi- 
dency. I have franTvly avowed my own distrust of my fitness for this 
high station ; but having, at the solicitation of many of my countrymen, 
taken my position as a candidate, I do not feel at liberty to surrender that 
position until my friends manifest a wish that I should retire from it. I 
will then most gladly do so. I have no private purposes to accomplish, 



538 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

no party projects to build up, no enemies to punish — nothing to serve but 
my country. 

" I have been very often addressed by letter, and my opinions have 
been asked upon almost every question that might occur to the writers as 
affecting the interest of their country or their party. I have not always 
responded to these inquiries, for various reasons. 

" I confess, while I have great cardinal principles which will regulate 
my political life, I am not sufficiently familiar with all the minute details 
of political legislation to give solemn pledges to exert myself to carry out 
this or defeat that measure. I have no concealment. I hold no opinion 
which I would not readily proclaim to my assembled countrymen ; but 
crude impressions upon matters of policy, which may be right to-day and 
wrong to-morrow, are perhaps not the best test of fitness for office. One 
who can not be trusted without pledges, can not be confided in merely on 
account of them. 

" I will proceed, however, now to respond to your inquiries : — 

" 1. I reiterate what I have so often said : I am a whig. If elected, I 
would not be the mere president of a party. I would endeavor to act 
independent of party domination. 1 should feel bound to administer the 
government untrammelled by party schemes. 

" 2. The Veto Power. — The power given by the constitution to the 
executive to interpose his veto, is a high conservative power ; but, in my 
opinion, should never be exercised except in cases of clear violation of 
the constitution, or manifest haste and want of considergtion by Congress. 
Indeed, I have thought that for many years past the known opinions and 
wishes of the executive have exercised undue and injurious influence 
upon the legislative department of the government ; and for this cause I 
have thought our system was in danger of undergoing a great change 
from its true theory. The personal opinions of the individual who may 
happen to occupy the executive chair, ought not to control the action of 
Congress upon questions of domestic policy ; nor ought his objections to 
be interposed where questions of constitutional power have been settled 
by the various departments of government, and acquiesced in by the 
people. 

" 3. Upon the subject of the tariff, the currency, the improvement of 
our great highways, rivers, lakes, and harbors, the will of the people, as 
expressed through their representatives in Congress, ought to be respected 
and carried out by the executive. 

" 4. The Mexican War. — I sincerely rejoice at the prospect of peace. 
My life has been devoted to arms, yet I look upon war at all times and 
under all circumstances as a national calamity, to be avoided if compatible 
with the national honor. The principles of our government, as well as 
its true policy, are opposed to the subjugation of other nations and the 
dismemberment of other countries by conquest. In the language of the 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 539 

great Washington, ' Why should we quit our own to stand on foreign 
ground V In the Mexican war our national honor has been vindicated ; 
and in dictating terras of peace, we may well afford to be forbearing and 
even magnanimous to a fallen foe. 

" These are my opinions upon the subjects referred to by you, and any 
reports or publications, written or verbal, from any source, differing in any 
essential particular from what is here written, are unauthorized and untrue. 

" I do not know that I shall again write upon the subject of national 
politics. I shall engage in no schemes, no combinations, no intrigues. 
If the American people have not confidence in me, they ought not to give 
me their suffrages. If they do not, you know me well enough to believe 
me, when I declare I shall be content. I am too old a soldier to murmur 
against such high authority. " Z. Taylor. 

" To Captain J. S. Allison." 

With the knowledge of General Taylor's political opinions repeatedly 
expressed in the above and other answers to inquiries made of him, his 
name was prominently brought before the whig national convention which 
met at Philadelphia on the 1st of June, 1848. 

The first ballot taken in that convention showed the popularity of Gen- 
eral Taylor, even in comparison with his distinguished rivals as candidates 
for the presidency. The votes stood for Zachary Taylor, 111; Henry 
Clay, 97 ; Winfield Scott, 43 ; Daniel Webster, 22 ; John M. Clayton. 4 ; 
John M'Lean, 2. Necessary for a choice, 140 ; the whole number of 
votes being 279. 

On the second ballot the vote stood for Taylor, 118 , Clay, 86 ; Scott, 
49; Webster, 22; Clayton, 4. Third ballot, Taylor, 133; Clay, 74; 
Scott, 54; Webster, 17; Clayton, 1. 

The fourth and final ballot gave Taylor 171 ; Clay, 35 ; Scott, 60 ; 
Webster, 14. It is worthy of notice, that the votes for General Taylor 
on the last ballot came from each of the thirty states represented in the 
convention ; thus showing that he was truly a national candidate. 

General Taylor was then declared duly nominated as the whig candidate 
for the presidency of the United States. Millard Fillmore, of the state 
of New York, was, on the second ballot, nominated by the same conven- 
tion for vice-president. 

Having duly accepted the nomination of the whig national convention, 
General Taylor remained with his family at Baton Rouge until the pres- 
idential election took place, in November, 1848. The result of that elec- 
tion, as shown by the votes of the people, and confirmed of course by the 
electoral colleges then chosen, which met in December following, was the 
election of Taylor and Fillmore, the whig candidates for president and 
vice-president, who each received 163 electoral votes, against 127 votes 
given for the democratic candidates, General Cass and General Butler. 



540 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

The distinguishing traits of General Taylor's character, as described by 
a friend, are honesty, good judgment, benevolence, firmness, and energy. 
It were a waste of time to dwell upon these traits of his character, for his 
military career has afforded such abundant examples of his exercise of 
these qualities as to render them familiar to every one who has heard or 
read of the man. The following extracts from Taylor's official despatches 
at different periods of his life, are characteristic of his determination and 
unsurpassed bravery. 

In his letter to General Howard, giving the details of his expedition 
against the British and Indians on Red river in September, 1814, he 
says : — 

" I collected the oflicers together and put the following question to 
them : ' Are we able, 334 effective men, to fight the enemy with any pros- 
pect of success V They were of opinion the enemy was at least three to 
one, and that it was not practicable to effect the object. I then deter- 
mined to drop down the river and erect a fort; and should the enemy 
attempt to descend the river in force before the fort can be completed, 
every foot of the way from the fort to the settlements shall he contested.''^ 

In his letter to the adjutant-general of the army, dated Point Isabel, 
May 7, 1846 (more than thirty years after the above), he uses similar lan- 
guage, viz. : — 

" I shall march this day, with the main body of the army, to open a 
communication with Major Brown, and to throw forward supplies of ord- 
nance and provisions. If the enemy opposes my march, in whatever force, 
I shall fight hi?n." 

In person. General Taylor is about five feet eight inches in height, and 
slightly inclined to corpulency. His complexion is dark, his forehead 
high, and his eyes keen and penetrating, indicating uniform good humor, 
his face careworn, but extremely intelligent, and generally lit up with a 
benevolent smile. He dresses at all times with great simplicity, and is 
kind and affable in his manners. He has been but once married, and has 
had four children — one son and three daughters. Of the latter, one mar- 
ried Dr. Wood, of the U. S. army ; another (since deceased) married 
Colonel Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, who commanded the Mississippi 
volunteers at Buena Vista; the third married Colonel W. W. S. Bliss, of 
the army, who, as before mentioned, accompanied the general in his cam- 
paigns in Mexico. Colonel Bliss and lady reside with the president. 

On the 24th of January, General Taylor took his departure for Wash- 
ington, to enter upon the duties of the high office to which he had been 
elected by the suffrages of the people. On the day previous to his ta- 
king leave of his home and his immediate friends and neighbors, the cit- 
izens of Baton Rouge, without distinction of party, assembled spontane- 
ously, to pay him their respects and bid him farewell. A large procession 
was formed, which proceeded to his residence where he was app'"opriate- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 541 

ly addressed on belitilf of the citizens, by one of their number. To this 
address he made a brief but touching reply, in which he assured them that 
it was with feelings of no ordinary character, that he met with his fellow- 
citizens on such an occasion, many of whom he had been associated with 
more than a quarter of a century. Had he consulted his own wishes, he 
said he should have preferred the office he was then about to vacate, and 
have remained among his old friends ; but that as the people had, without 
his solicitation, seen fit to elevate him to another station, though he dis- 
trusted his abilities satisfactorily to .discharge the great and important du- 
ties thus imposed upon him, yet he assured them that he should endeavor 
to fulfil them without regard to fear, favor, or affection from any one. In 
conclusion with his prayers for the welfare of his fellow-citizens of Ba- 
ton Rouge, he bade them an affectionate farewell. 

The day succeeding General Taylor's departure. Colonel Bliss, assist- 
ant adjutant-general, issued an order announcing the resignation of the gen- 
eral, and his final withdrawal from the military service of the army. In 
resigning his commission, General Taylor expressed his "regret at his 
separation from a service to which he was attached by so many pleasing 
and proud associations. To the officers and men who had served under 
his immediate orders, he expressed his hearty thanks for their zealous and 
cordial support in the execution of the duties confided to him during a 
long and eventful service. To them and to all he extended a heartfelt 
farew^ell, and his warmest wishes for tlieir continued happiness and suc- 
cess in the arduous and honorable career which they had chosen." Thus 
terminated Taylor's connexion with the army, after a service of more than 
forty years. 

On his journey to Washington, by way of the Mississippi and Ohio 
rivers, the Cumberland road, and the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, the 
president elect was met with the liveliest expressions of gratitude and re- 
spect by the people in the diflerent places along his route. After a long 
and fatiguing journey, interrupted by the public demonstrations in the va- 
rious cities and towns through which he passed, he arrived at Washing- 
ton, on the evening of the 23d of February, the anniversary of the battle 
of Buena Vista — and was received with every demonstration of joy by 
the citizens and others assembled at the national capital. From the re- 
lay house, on the railroad, about thirty miles from Washington, he was at- 
tended by the mayor and several members of the city council. The de- 
lay at the relay house, where he was welcomed by deputations from Bal- 
timore, caused his arrival at the metropolis after nightfall — but the stars 
shone brightly, and the railroad track was occasionally illuminated by bon- 
fires on the route. By the roaring of cannon and flights of brilliant rock- 
ets was the general heralded into the city, and escorted by a large con- 
course of people to his quarters at Willard's hotel, on Pennsylvania ave- 
nue, where he remained until the day of his inauguration. 



542 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

The joint committee of the senate and house of representatives appoint- 
ed to wait on the president and vice-president elect and inform them of 
their election to those high offices, having accordingly waited on General 
Taylor, after his arrival at the seat of government, and through their chair- 
man, Colonel Jefferson Davis of Mississippi (his son-in-law), performed 
that duty ; " the president elect, in signifying his acceptance of the of- 
fice to which he had been chosen by the people, evinced emotions of the 
profoundest gratitude, and acknowledged his distrust of his ability to ful- 
fil the expectations upon which their confidence was based, but gave as- 
surances of a fixed purpose to administer the government for the benefit 
and advantage of the whole country. 

" In alluding to the fact to which his attention had been drawn, that the 
chairman of the committee represented a public body, a majority of whom 
were opposed in political opinion to the president elect, and accorded with 
that majority, he recognised in it the deference to the popular will consti- 
tutionally expressed, on which rests the strength and hope of the republic, 
and he said that it was to have been expected from the senate of the Uni- 
ted States. 

" He expressed an ardent wish that he might be able in any degree to 
assuao-e the fierceness of party, or temper with moderation the conflicts of 
those who are only divided as to the means of securing the public welfare. 

" He said, having been reminded that he was about to occupy the chair 
once filled by Washington, that he could hope to emulate him only in the 
singleness of the aims which guided the conduct of the man who had no 
parallel in history, and no rival in the hearts of his countrymen. 

" In conclusion, he announced his readiness to take the oath of office 
on the 5th of March, proximo, at such hour and place as might be desig- 
nated." 

The report of the committee being made to the senate on the 27th of 
February, that body appointed as a committee to make the necessary ar- 
rangements for the reception of the president elect on the 5th of March, 
Senators Reverdy Johnson, Jefferson Davis, and John Davis. 

THE INAUGURATION. 

At the appointed time, Monday, March, 5, 1849, the inauguration of 
General Zachary Taylor as president of the United States, took place, in 
front of the great portico of the capitol. The multitude of people assem- 
bled on the occasion from every part of the Union, for the purpose of wit- 
nessing the interesting ceremony, is supposed to have been much larger 
than was ever before collected in Washington. The weather, although the 
sky was clouded, was as pleasant as usual at this season of the year. At 
the break of day the strains of martial music resounded along the princi- 
pal avenues of the city, and hundreds of national flags were unfolded to 
the breeze. The bells of the city then rang a stirring peal, and long be- 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 543 

fore the usual hour of breakfast, the people were wending their way in 
immense masses to the capitol. 

At nine o'clock, one hundred citizens who officiated as marshals on 
horseback, proceeded in a body to Willard's hotel, for the purpose of pay- 
ing their respects to General Taylor. After the ceremony of introduc- 
tion, the marshals retired to attend to their official duties, and the presi- 
dent elect, who was dressed in a plain suit of black, and in the enjoyment 
of his usual good health, returned to his apartments to prepare for the pro- 
cession. 

At half past eleven o'clock, the procession took up its line of march 
from the hotel to the capitol. The military of Washington, Baltimore, 
&c., who formed part of the procession, presented an imposing appearance. 
The carriage in which the president elect was escorted was drawn by four 
gray horses. Ex-President Polk, Mr. Speaker Winthrop, and Mr. Sea- 
Ion, mayor of Washington, accompanied General Taylor in the carriage. 
Pennsyh-ania avenue, along which the procession passed, was thronged 
with thousands of people ; many of the roofs of the houses were also cov- 
ered, and every window was occupied by spectators. The time occupied 
by the procession in reaching the east front of the capitol was about an 
hour, and after the conclusion of the inaugural ceremonies, the booming 
of artillery resounded through the city. 

The senate being convened at eleven o'clock, after prayer by the chap- 
lain, the Hon. David R. Atchison of Missouri, was chosen president, pro 
tern. The diplomatic corps, representing various foreign nations, were 
next announced. The brilliancy of some of their costumes appeared in 
fine contrast with the dark robes of the judges of the supreme court, seated 
opposite to them. 

The late vice-president, Mr. Dallas, then conducted to the chair the 
Hon. Millard Fillmore, the vice-president elect, to whom the oath of office 
was administered by Mr. Atchison, after which, Mr. Fillmore delivered 
with calmness and dignity, an appropriate address, and took his seat as 
president of the senate. 

At twelve o'clock, the members of the late executive cabinet appeared, 
and occupied places on the left of the vice-president. 

All things were now in readiness for the appearance of the president 
elect, who, after an interval, entered the senate- chamber in company with 
Ex-President Polk, and took a seat which had been prepared for him ; Mr. 
Polk occupying another upon his left hand. 

After a brief pause the order of procession was announced, and the com- 
pany retired from the chamber of the senate in the order prescribed, to the 
east portico of the capitol, where an extensive staging had been erected. 
At about one o'clock, the president elect, in full view of at least twenty 
thousand people from all parts of the Union, pronounced his inaugural ad- 
dress. It was delivered in a remarkably distinct voice, and many parts 



544 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF TAYLOR. 

of it were enunciated with a full and clear emphasis, and enthusiastically- 
responded to by the cheers of the surrounding spectators. As soon as the 
applause Avhich marked the conclusion of the address had subsided, the 
oath of office was administered to the president, by Chief-Justice Taney, 
The president then received congratulations from numerous persons pres- 
ent, Chi'^f- Justice Taney and Ex-President Polk taking the lead. 

The ceremonies at the capitol were terminated by salvos of artillery, 
and the president and the procession returned down the avenue leading 
from the capitol to the White house, appropriated to the residence of the 
successive presidents of the United States. At this mansion, the presi- 
dent received with his accustomed courtesy the salutes of some thousands 
of his fellow-citizens, and in the evening visited several balls given in 
honor of the occasion. 

On the 6th of March, the president nominated to the senate the follow- 
ing gentlemen to compose his cabinet, and they were, the following day, 
confirmed by that body, viz. : John M. Clayton, of Delaware, secretary 
of state ; William M. Meredith, of Pennsylvania, secretary of the treas- 
ury ; George W. Crawford, of Georgia, secretary of war ; William B. 
Preston, of Virginia, secretary of the navy ; Thomas Ewing, of Ohio, 
secretary of the interior; Jacob Collamer, of Vermont, postmaster-gen- 
eral ; Reverdy Johnson, of Maryland, attorney-general. 

These officers, with the exception of Mr. Crawford, who arrived from 
Georgia a {ew days afterward, respectively took the oath of office and en- 
tered upon their duties on the 8th of March, 1849. 



DOCUMENTS, 



HISTORICAL AND STATISTICAL. 



35 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 

JULY 4th, 1776. 



THE UNANIMOUS DECLARATION OF THE THIRTEEN UNITED STATES OP 
AMERICA IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. ' 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one 
people to dissolve the political bands wliicli have connected them with 
another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and 
equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitled them, 
a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should de- 
clare the causes which impel them to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are created equal ; 
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights ; 
that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ; that, to 
secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their 
just powers from the consent of the governed ; that, whenever any form 
of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the 
people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its 
foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as 
to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Pru- 
dence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be 
changed for light and transient causes ; and, accordingly, all experience 
hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are 
sufTerable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they 
are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, 
pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under 
absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such 
government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has 
been the patient sufferance of these colonies, and such is now the necessity 
which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The 
history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries 
and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute 
tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid 
world : — 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholest)me and necessary 
for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing 
importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be 



548' DECLARATION OF IXDEPENDEXCE. 

• 

obtained ; and, when so suspended, lie lias utterly neglected to attend 
to them. 

He has refused to pass other .aws for the accommodation of large 
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of 
representation in the legislature — a right inestimable to them, and formi- 
dable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfort- 
able, and 'distant from the repository of their public records, for the sole 
purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing with 
manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a longtime after such dissolutions, to cause others to 
be elected ; Avhereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have 
returned to the people at large for their exercise — the state remaining, in 
the meantime, exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without and 
convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states — for that 
purpose obstructing the laws of naturalization of foreigners, refusing to pass 
others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of 
new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent 
to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 

He has made judges dependent on his will alone for the tenure of their 
offices and the amount and payment of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of 
officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, without the 
consent of our legislatures. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior'to, 
the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our 
constitution and unacknowledged by our laws — giving his assent to their 
acts of pretended legislation. 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders 
which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states ; 

For cutting off our trade Avith all parts of the world ; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences ; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, 
establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, 
so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the 
same absolute rule into these colonies ; 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 549 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and 
altering, fundamentally, the forms of our governments ; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested 
with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here by declaring us out of his protection 
and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and 
destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to 
complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with 
circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most bar- 
barous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to 
bear arms against their country, to become the executionersof their friends 
and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored 
to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless Indian savages, 
Avhose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, 
sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress in the 
most humble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by 
repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act 
which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We 
have warned them, from time to time, of attempts, by their legislature, 
to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them 
of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have ap- 
pealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjurbd them, 
by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which 
would inevitably interrupt our connexions and correspondence. They, 
too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We 
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity which denounces our separa- 
tion, and hold them, as Ave hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in 
peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in 
general Congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World 
for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of 
the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare that these 
united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states ; 
that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all 
political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent states, 
they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, estab- 
lish comrherce, and to do all other acts and things which independent 



50 



DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. 



states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm 
reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to 
each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

The foregoing declaration was, by order of Congress^' engrossed and 
signed by the following members : — 

JOHN HANCOCK. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

JOSIAH Bartlett, 
William Whipple, 
Matthew Thornton. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY, 
Samuel Adams, 
John Adams, 
KoBERT Treat Paine, 
Elbiudge GERRr. 

. RHODE ISLAND, 
Stephen Hopkins, 
William Ellery. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
William Williams, 
Oliver Wolcott. 

NEW YORK. 

^VILLIAM J'LOTD, 

Philip Livingston, 
Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. 



NEW JERSEY. 

Richard Stockton, - 
John Witherspoon, 
Francis Hopkinson, 
John Hart, 
Abraham Clark. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

Robert Morris, 
Ben-^jamin Rush, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
John Morton, 
George Clymer, 
James Smith, 
George TAylor, 
James Wilson, 
George Ross. 

DELAWARE. 

C^SAR Rodney, 
George Read, 
Thomas M'Kean. 

MARYLAND. 
Samuel Chase, 
William Paca, 



Thomas Stone, [ton 

Charles Carroll, of Carroll- 

VIRGINIA. 
George Wythe, 
Richard Henry Lee, 
Thomas Jefferson, 
Benjamin Harrison, 
Thomas Nelson, jr. 
F1J.ANCIS Lightfoot Lee, 
Carter Braxton, 

NORTH CAROLINA 

William Hooper-, 
Joseph Hewes, 
John Penn. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 
Edward Rutlidge, 
Thomas Hey'ward, je. 
Thomas Lynch, jr. 
Arthur Middleton. 

GEORGIA. 

Button Gwinnett, 
Lyman Hall, 
George Walton. 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, 
DELEGATES OF THE STATES AFFIXED TO OUR NAMES,' SEND GREETING. 

Whereas, the delegates of the United States of America in Congress 
assembled did, on the fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven, and in the second year 
of the independence of America, agree to certain articles of confederation 
and perpetual Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts 
Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, 
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia, in the words following, viz. : — 

Articles of Confederation and jjcrpctual Union between the States of New 
Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island and Providence Planta- 
tions, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, 
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Article 1. The style of this confederacy shall be, " The United States 
of America." 

Article 2. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independ- 
ence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this con- 
federation expressly delegated to the United States in Congress assembled. 

Article 3. The said states hereby severally enter into a firm league 
of friendship with each other for their common defence, the security "of 
their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare ; binding themselves 
to assist each other against all force offered to, or attacks made upon 
them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any 
other pretence Avhatever. 

Article 4. The better to secure and perpetuate mutual friendship, and 
intercourse among the people of the different states in this Union, the free 
inhabitants of each of these states, paupers, vagabonds, and fugitives from 
justice, excepted, shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of free 
citizens in the several states ; and the people of each state shall have free 
ingress and regress to and from any other state, and shall enjoy therein 
all the privileges of trade and commerce subject to the same duties, im- 
positions, and restrictions, as the inhabitants thereof respecti^^ely, provided 
that such restrictions shall not extend so far as to prevent the removal of 
property imported into any state to any other state, of which the owner is 
au inhabitant ; provided also, that no imposition, duties, or restriction, 



552 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

shall be laid by any state on the property of the United States or either 
of them. 

If any person guilty of or charged with treason, felony, or other high 
misdemeanor, in any state, shall flee from justice, and be found in any of 
the United States, he shall, upon demand of the governor or executive 
power of the state from which he fled, be delivered up and removed to the 
state having jurisdiction of his oiTence. 

Full faith stnd credit shall be given in each of these states to the records, 
acts, and judicial proceedings of the courts and magistrates of every other 
state. .... 

Article 5. For the more convenient management of the general interests 
of the United States, delegates shall be annually appointed in such manner 
as the legislature of each state shall direct to meet in Congress on the 
first Monday in November, in every year, with a power reserved to each 
state to recall its delegates or any of them, at any time within the year, 
and to send others in their stead for the remainder of the year. 

No state shall be represented in Congress by less than two, nor by 
more than seven members ; and no person shall be capable of being a 
delegate for more than three years in any term of six years ; nor shall any 
person, being a delegate, be capable of holding any office under the United 
States, for which he, or another for his benefit, receives any salary, fees, 
or emoluments of any kind. 

Each state shall maintain its own delegates in a meeting of the states, 
and while they act as members of the conimitee of the states. 

In determining questions in the United States in Congress assembled, 
each state shall have one vote. 

Freedom of speech and debate in Congress shall not be impeached or 
questioned in any court or place out of Congress ; and the members of 
Congress shall be protected in their persons from arrests and imprison- 
ments, during the time of their going to and from and attendance on Con- 
gress, except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. 

Article 6. No state, without the consent of the United States in Con- 
gress assembled, shall send any embassy to, or receive any embassy from, 
or enter into any conference, agreement, alliance, or treaty, with any king, 
prince, or state ; nor shall any person holding any office of profit or trust 
under the United States, or any of them, accept of any present, emolument, 
oflice or title of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state ; 
nor shall the United States in Congress assembled, or any of them, grant 
any title of nobility. 

No two or more states shall enter into any treaty, confederation, or 
alliance whatever, between them, without the consent of the United States 
in Congress assembled, specifying accurately the purposes for which the 
same is to be entered into and how long it shall continue. 

No state shall lay any imposts or duties, which may interfere with any 
stipulations in treaties entered into by the United States in Congress as- 
sembled, with any king, prince, or state, in pursuance of any treaties al- 
ready proposed by Congress to the courts of P^rance and Spain. 

No vessel-of-war shall be kept up in time of peace by any state, except 
such number only as shall be deemed necessary by the United States in 
Congress assembled for the defence of such state or its trade ; nor shall 
any body of forces be kept up by any state in time of peace, except such 
number only as in the judgment of the United States in Congress as- 



ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 553 

sembled, shall be deemed requisite to garrison tlie forts necessary for 
tlie defence of such state ; but every state shall always keep up a well- 
regulated and disciplined militia, sufficiently armed and accoutred, and 
shall provide and have constantly ready for use, in public stores, a due 
number of field-pieces and tents, and a proper quantity of arms, ammu- 
nition, and camp equipage. 

No state shall engage in any war without the consent of the United 
States in Congress assembled, unless such state be actually invaded by 
enemies or shall have received certain advice of a resolution being formed 
by some nation of Indians to iuA^ade such state, and the danger is so im- 
minent as not to admit of a delay till the United States in Congress as- 
sembled can be consulted ; nor shall any state grant commissions to any 
ships or vessels-of-war, nor letters of marque or reprisal, except it be after 
a declaration of war by the United States in Congress assembled, and then 
only against the kingdom or state, and the subjects thereof, against which 
war has been so declared, and under such regulations as shall be estab- 
lished by the United States in Congress assembled, unless such state be 
infested by pirates, in which case vessels-of-war may be fitted out for that 
occasion, and kept so long as the danger shall continue, or until the United 
States in Congress assembled shall determine otherwise. 

Article 7. When land forces are raised by any state for the common 
defence, all officers of or under the rank of colonel, shall be appointed by 
the legislature of each state respectively, by whom such forces shall be 
raised, or in such manner as such state shall direct, and all vacancies 
shall be filled up by the state which first made the appointment. 

Article 8. All charges of war, and all other expenses that shall be 
incurred for the common defence or general welfare, and allowed by the 
United States in Congress assembled, shall be defrayed out of a common 
treasury, which shall be supplied by the several states in proportion to the 
value of all land within each state granted to or surveyed for any person, 
as such land and the buildings and improvements thereon shall be estima- 
red according to such mode as the United States in Congress assembled 
shall from time to time direct and appoint. 

The taxes for paying that proportion shall be laid and levied by the 
authority and direction of the legislatures of the several states, within the 
time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. 

Article 9. The United States in Congress assembled shall have the 
sole and exclusive right and power of determining on peace and war, ex- 
cept in the cases mentioned in the sixth article — of sending and receiving 
ambassadors — entering into treaties and alliances ; provided, that no treaty 
of commerce shall be made whereby the legislative power of the respective 
states shall be restrained from imposing such imposts and duties on 
foreigners as their own people are subjected to, or from prohibiting the 
exportation or importation of any species of goods or commodities what- 
soever — of establishing rules for deciding in all cases, what captures on 
land or water shall be legal, and in what manner prizes taken by land or 
naval forces in the service of the United States shall be divided or appro- 
priated — of granting letters of marque and reprisal in times of peace — ap- 
pointing courts for the trial of piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and establishing courts for receiving and determining finally appeals 
in all cases of captures : provided, that no member of Congress shall be 
appointed a judge of any of the said courts. 



554 ARTICLKS OF CONFEDERATION. 

The United vStates in Congress assembled shall also be the last resort 
on appeal in all disputes and differences now subsisting or that hereafter 
may arise between two or more states concerning boundary, jurisdiction, 
or any other cause whatever ; which authority shall always be exercised 
in the manner following : whenever the legislative or executive authority 
or lawful agent of any state in controversy with another shall present a 
petition to Congress, stating the matter in question, and praying for a 
hearing, notice thereof shall be given by order of Congress to the legis- 
lative or executive authority of the other state in controversy, and a day 
assigned for the appearance of the parties, by their lawful agents, who 
shall then be directed to appoint by joint consent commissioners or judges 
to constitute a court for hearing and determining the matter in question; 
but if they can not agree. Congress shall name three persons out of each 
of the United States, and from the list of such persons each party sliall 
alternately strike out one, the petitioners beginning until the number shall 
be reduced to thirteen ; and from that number not less than seven nor 
more than nine names, as Congress shall direct shall, in the presence of 
Congress, be drawn out by lot ; and the persons whose names shall be so 
drawn, or any five of them, shall be commissioners or judges, to hear and 
finally determine the controversy, so always as a major part of the judges, 
■who shall hear the cause, shall agree in the determination : and if either 
party shall neglect to attend at the day appointed, without showing reasons 
which Congress shall judge sufficient, or being present shall refuse to 
strike, the Congress shall proceed to nominate three persons out of each 
state, and the secretary of Congress shall strike in behalf of such party 
absent or refusing ; and the judgment and sentence of the court to be ap- 
pointed in the manner before prescribed, shall be final and conclusive , 
and if any of the parties shall refuse to submit to the authority of such 
court, or to appear, or defend their claim or cause, the court shall never- 
theless proceed to pronounce sentence or judgment, which shall in like 
manner be final and decisive, the judgment or sentence and other proceed- 
ings, being in either case transmitted to Congress, and lodged among the 
acts of Congress for the security of the parties concerned : provided, that 
every commissioner, before he sits in judgment, shall take an oath, to be 
administered by one of the judges of the supreme or superior court of the 
state, where the cause shall be tiied, " well and truly to hear and deter- 
mine the matter in question, according to the best of his judgment, without 
favor, afleclion, or hope of reward :" provided also, that no state shall be 
deprived of territory for the benefit of the United States. 

All controversies concerning the private right of soil, claimed under 
different grants of two or more states, whose jurisdiction as they may 
respect such lands and the states which passed such grants are adjusted, 
the said grants or either of them being at the same time claimed to have 
originated antecedent to such settlement of jurisdiction, shall, on the peti- 
tion of either party to the Congress of the United States, be finally deter- 
mined, as near as may be, in the same manner as is before prescribed for 
deciding disputes respecting territorial jurisdiction between different 
states. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall also have the sole and 
exclusive right and power of regulating the alloy and value of coin struck 
by their own authority, or by that of the respective states^fixing the 
standard of weights and measures throughout the United States — regulating 



ARTICLES OF COXFEDERATION. 



505 



the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians not members of any of the 
states ; provided that the legislative right of any state within its own limits 
be not. infringed or violated — establishing and regulating postoffices from 
one state to another throughout all the United States, and exacting such 
postage on the papers passing through the same, as may be requisite to 
defray the expenses of the said office — appointing all officers of the land 
forces in the service of the United States excepting regimental officers — 
appointing all the officers of the naval forces, and commissioning all 
otlicers whatever in the service of the United States — making rules for the 
government and regulation of the said land and naval forces, and directing 
their operations. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall have authority to ap- 
point a committee to sit in the recess of Congress, to be denominated " a 
committee of the states," and to consist of one delegate from each state ; 
and to appoint such other committees and civil officers as may be necessary 
for managing the general affiiirs of the United States, .under their direc- 
tion — to appoint one of their number to preside, provided that no person 
be allowed to serve in the office of president more than one year in any 
term of three years — to ascertain the necessary sums of money to be 
raised for the service of the United States, and to appropriate and apply 
the same for defraying the public expenses — to borrow money or emit 
bills on the credit of the United States, transmitting every half year to the 
respective states an account of the sums of money so borrowed or emitted 
— to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and 
to make requisitions from each state for its quota, in proportion to the 
number of white inhabitants in such state ; which requisition shall be 
binding, and thereupon the legislature of each state shall appoint the regi- 
mental officers, raise the men, and clothe, arm, and equip them, in a soldier- 
like manner, at the expense of the United States ; and the officers and 
men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place appointed, 
and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress assembled : 
but if the United States in Congress assembled, shall, on consideration of 
circumstances, judge proper that any state should not raise men or should 
raise a smaller number than its quota, and that any other state should raise 
a greater number of men than the quota thereof, such extra number shall 
be raised, officered, clothed, armed, and equipped, in the same manner as 
the quota of such state, unless the legislature of such state shall judge 
that such extra number can not safely be spared out of the same ; in which 
case they shall raise, officer, clothe, arm, and equip, as many of such 
extra number as they judge can be safely spared. And the officers 
and men so clothed, armed, and equipped, shall march to the place ap- 
pointed, and within the time agreed on by the United States in Congress 
assembled. 

The United States in Congress assembled shall never engage in a war, 
nor grant letters of marque and reprisal in time of peace, nor enter into 
any treaties or alliances, nor coin money, nor regulate the value thereof, 
nor ascertain the sums and expenses necessary for the defence and wel- 
fare of the United States or any of them, nor emit bills, nor borrow money 
on the credit of the United States, nor appropriate money, nor agree upon 
the number of vessels-of-war to be built or purchased, or the number of 
land or sea forces to be raised, nor appoint a commander-in-chief of the 
army or navy, unless nine states assent to the same ; nor shall a question 



556 ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION. 

on any other point, except for adjourning from day to day, be determined, 
unless by the votes of a majority of the United States in Congress as- 
sembled. 

The Congress of the United States shall have power to adjourn to any 
time within the year, and to any place within the United States, so that 
no period of adjournment be for a longer duration than the space of six 
months ; and shall publish the journal of their proceedings monthly, ex- 
cept such parts thereof relating to treaties, alliances, or military operations, 
as in their judgment require secresy ; and the yeas and nays of the dele- 
gates of each state on any question shall be entered on the journal, when 
it is desired by any delegate ; and the delegates of a state, or any of them, 
at his or their request, shall be furnished with a transcript of the said 
journal, except such parts as are above excepted, to lay before the legis- 
latures of the several states. 

Article 10. The committee of the states, or any nine of them, shall be 
authorized to execute, in the recess of Congress, such of the powers of 
Congress as the United States in Congress assembled, by the consent of 
nine states, shall from time to time, think expedient to vest them with ; 
provided that no power be delegated to the said committee, for the exercise 
of which, by the articles of confederation, the voice of nine states in the 
Congress of the United States assembled is requisite. 

Article 11. Canada, acceding to this confederation, and joining in the 
measures of the United States, shall be admitted into, and entitled to, all 
the advantages of this Union ; but no other colony shall be admitted into 
the same unless such admission be agreed to by nine states. 

Article 12. All bills of credit emitted, moneys borrowed, and debts 
contracted, by or under the authority of Congress, before the assembling 
of the United States, in pursuance of the present confederation, shall be 
deemed and considered as a charge against the United States, for payment 
and satisfaction whereof the said United States and the public faith are 
hereby solemnly pledged. 

Article 13. Every state shall abide by the decision of the United 
States in Congress assembled, on all questions which, by this confedera- 
tion, are submitted to them. And the articles of this confederation shall 
be inviolably observed by every state, and the Union shall be perpetual ; 
nor shall any alteration at any time hereafter be made in any of them, un- 
less such alteration be agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and 
be afterward confirmed by the legislature of every state. 

And whereas it has pleased the great Governor of the world to incline 
the hearts of the legislatures we respectively represent in Congress, to 
approve of and to authorize us to ratify the said articles of confederation 
and perpetual Union : know yc, that we, the undersigned delegates, by 
virtue of the power and authority to us given for that purpose, do, by these 
presents, in the name and in behalf of our respective constituents, fully 
and entirely ratify and confirm each and every of the said articles of con- 
federation and perpetual Union, and all and singular the matters and things 
therein contained ; and we do further solemnly plight and engage the faith 
of our respective constituents, that they shall abide by the determinations 
of the United States in Congress assembled, on all questions which, by the 
said confederation, are submitted to them ; and that the articles thereof 
shall be inviolably observed by the states we respectively represent ; and 
that the Union be perpetual. 



ARTICLES OF COXFEDERATION. 



5-57 



In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands, in Congress. 
Done at Philadelphia, in the state of Pennsylvania, the ninth day of July, 
in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-eight, 
and in the third year of the independence of America. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. JONATHAN Batard Smith, 

JosiAH Bartlett, William Clingan, 

John Wentworth, jr. Joseph Reed. 

MASSACHUSETTS BAY. 
John Hancock, 
Samuel Adams, 
Elbridge Gerry, 
Francis Dana, 
James Lovell, 
Samuel Holten. 



RHODE ISLAND. 
"William Ellert, 
Henry Marchant, 
John Collins. 

CONNECTICUT. 

Roger Sherman, 
Samuel Huntington, 
Oliver. Wolcott, 
Titus Hosmer, 
Andrew Adams. 

NEW YORK. 
James Duane, 
Francis Lewis, 
William Duer, 
Gouverneur Morris. 

NEW JERSEY. 
John Witherspoon, 
Nath. Scudder. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 
Robert Morris, 
Daniel Robekdeap, 



DELAWARE. 

Thomas M'Kean, 
John Dickinson, 
Nicholas Van Dyke. 

MARYLAND. 

John Hanson, 
Daniel Carroll. 

VIRGINIA. 
Richard Henry Lee, 
John Banister, 
Thomas Adams, 
John Harvie, 
Francis Lightfoot Lee. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 
John Penn, 
Constable Harnett, 
John Williams. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Henry Laurens, 
William Henry Drayton, 
John Matthews, 
Richard Hutson, 
Thomas Heyward, jr. 

GEORGIA, 

John Walton, 
Edward Telfair, 
Edward Langwobthy, 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, 

COPIED FROM, AND COMPARED WITH, THE ROLL IN THE DEPARTMENT 

OF STATE. 



AYe the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common 
defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution 
for the United States of America. 

ARTICLE I. 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a 
Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate and house 
of representatives. 

Section 2. The house of representatives shall be composed 6f mem- 
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the 
electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of 
the most numerous branch of the state legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in 
which he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several 
states which may be included within this Union, according to their re- 
spective numbers,* which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of 
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other persons. 
The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first 
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent 
term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The num- 
ber of representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand,! but 
each state shall have at least one representative ; and until such enumera- 
tion shall be made, the state of New Hampshire shall be entitled to choose 
three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plantations one, 
Connecticut five. New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylvania eight, 
Delaware one, lilaryland six, Virginia ten. North Carolina five. South 
Carolina five, and Georgia three. 

• The constitutional provisfbn, that direct taxes shall he apportioned among the several 
states according to their respective numbers, to be ascertained by a census, was not intended 
to restrict the power of imposing direct taxes to states only. — Loughborough vs. Blake, 5 
Wheato7i, 319. 

t See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 124; iii., 261 ; iv., 332. Acts of 17th Congress, 
1st session, chap. x. , and of the 22d and 27th Congress. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 559 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the exec- 
utive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies. 

The house of representatives shall choose their speaker and other offi- 
cers ; and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Section 3. The senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years ; 
and each senator shall have one vote.* 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into, three classes. 
The seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 
tion of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth 
year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one 
third may be chosen every second year ; and if vacancies happen by resig- 
nation, or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the 
executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next meet- 
ing of the legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a senator who shall not have attained to the age of 
thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and who 
shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall 
be chosen. 

The vice-president of the United States shall be president of the senate, 
but shall have no vote, unless they be equally divided. 

The senate shall choose their other oftlcers, and also a president pro- 
tempore, in the absence of the vice-president, or when he shall exercise 
the office of president of the United States. 

The senate shall have the sole povyer to try all impeachments : When 
sitting for that purpose, they shall be on oath or affirmation. Wlien the 
president of the United States is tried, the chief justice shall preside : And 
no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the 
members present. 

Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to re- 
moval from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust or profit under the United States : but the party convicted 
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment and 
punishment, according to law. 

Section 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for sen- 
ators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legisla- 
ture thereof; but the Congress may at any time by law make or alter such 
regulations, except as to the places of choosing senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meet- 
ing shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law 
appoint a different day. 

Section 5. Each house shall be the judge of the elections, returns and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business , but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members, 
in such manner, and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings,! punish its 

• See art. v., clause 1. 

■f To an action of trespass against the sergeant-at-arms of the house of representatives 
of the United States for assault and battery and false imprisonment, it is a le sal justifica- 
tion and bar to plead that a Congress was held and sitting during the period of the tres- 
passes complained, and that the house of representatives had resolved that the plaintiff had 
been guilty of a breach of the privileges of the house, and of a high contempt of the dignity 



560 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

members for disorderly behavior, and, with tlie concmTence of two thirds, 
expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may in their judgment re- 
quire secresy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house on 
any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present^ be entered 
on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the con- 
sent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place 
than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Section 6. The senators and representatives shall receive a compen- 
sation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, 
felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their at- 
tendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and re- 
turning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house, they 
shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No senator or representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall 
have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any office 
under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his con- 
tinuance in office. 

Section 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the house of 
representatives ; but the senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the house of representatives and the 
senate, shall, before it become a law, be presented to the president of the 
United States ; if he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, 
with his objections to that house in which it shall have originated, who 
shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and proceed to recon- 
sider it. If after such reconsideration two thirds of that house shall agree 
to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other 
house, by which it shall likcAvise be reconsidered, and if approved by two 
thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes 
of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of 
the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal 
of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned by the pres- 
ident within ten days (Sunday excepted) after it shall have been presented 
to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, un- 
less the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case 
it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, ox vote to which the concurrence of the senate 

and authority of the same ; and had ordered that the speaker should issue his warrant to 
the serge;int-;it-arms, commanding him to take the plaintiff into custody wherever to be 
found, and to have him before the said house to answer to the said charge ; and that the 
speaker did accordingly issue such a warrant, reciting the said resolution and order, and 
commanding the scrgcant-at-arms to take the plaintiff into custody, &c., and deliver the 
said warrant to the defendant : by virtue of which warrant the defendant arrested the plain- 
tiff, and conveyed him to the bar of the house, where he was heard in his defence touching 
the matter of said charge, and the examination being adjourned from day to day, and the 
house having ordered the plaintiff to be detained in custody, he was accordingly detained 
by the defendant until he was finally adjudged to be guilty and convicted of the charge 
aforesaid, and ordered to be forthwith brought to the bar and reprimanded by the speaker, 
and then discharged from custody, and after being thus reprimanded, was actually dis- 
charged from the arrest and custody d^ioiesaid.— Anderson vs. Dunn, 6 IVheaton, 204. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 561 

and house of representatives may be necessary (except on a question of 
adjournment) shall be presented to the president of the United States ; and 
before the same shall take effect, shall be approved by him, or being dis- 
approved by him, shall be repassed by two thirds of the senate and house 
of representatives, according to the rules and limitations prescribed in the 
case of a bill. 

Section 8. The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes,* 
duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common 
defence and general welfare of the United States ; but all duties, imposts 
and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States ; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

To regulate commerce Avith foreign nations, and among the several 
states, and with the Indian tribes ; 

To establish an uniform rule of naturalization,! and uniform laws on the 
subject of bankruptcies^ throughout the United States ; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and fix 
the standard of weights and measures ; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and cur- 
rent coin of the United States ; 

To establish postoffices and postroads ; 

To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for lim- 
ited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective 
writings and discoveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the supreme court ; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high seas, 
and offences against the law of nations ;|| 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water ; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use 
shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To nuke rules for the government and regulation of the land and naval 
forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, 
suppress insurrections and repel invasions ; 

* The power of Congress to lay and collect faxes, duties, &c., extends to the District of 
Columbia, and to the territories of the United States, as well as to the states. — Loughborotigk 
vs. Blake, 5 Wheaton, 318. But Congress are not bound to extend a direct tax to tlie district 
and territories. — Id., 318. 

j- Under the constitution of the United States, the power of naturalization is exclusively 
in Congress. — Chivac vs. Chivac, 2 Wheaton, 259. 

See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 30 ; ii., 261 j iii., 71 ; iii., 2SS ; iii., 400 ; iv., 564 ; 
vi., 32. 

i Since the adoption of the constitution of the United States, a state has authority to pass 
a bankrupt law, provided such law does not impair the obligation of contracts within the 
meaning of the constitution (art. i., sect. 10), and provided there be no act of Congress ia 
force to establish a uniform system of bankruptcy conflicting with such law. — Stia'gess vs. 
Crowninshield, 4 Wheaton, 122, 192. 

See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 368, sect. 2 : iii., 66 ; iii., 158. 

II The act of the 3d March, 1819, chap. 76, sect. 5, referring to the law of nations for a 
definition of the crime of piracy, is a constitutional exercise of the power of Congress to de- 
fine and punish that crime. — United States vs. Smith, 5 Wheaton, 153, 157. 

Congress have power to provide for the punishment of offences committed by persons on 
board a ship-of-war of the United States, wherever that ship may lie. But Congress have 
not exercised that power in the case of a ship lying in the waters of the United States, the 
words within fort, arsenal, dockyard, magazine, or in any other place or di.itrict of country 
under the sole and exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, in the third section of the act of 
1790, chap. 9, not extending to a shipof-war, but only to objects in their nature, fixed and 
territorial. — United States vs. Bevans, 3 Wheato7i, S90. 
36 



562 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

To provide foi organizing, arming, and disciplining, the militia, and for 
governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the states respectively, the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the discipline 
prescribed by Congress ;* 

To exercise exclusive legislation in all cases whatsoever, over such 
district (not exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular 
states, and the acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government 
of the United States,! and to exercise like authority over all places pur- 
chased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same 
shall be, for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dockyards, and other 
needful buildings ; — And 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into 
execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this con- 
stitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or 
officer thereof-l 

Section 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited by 

* Vide amendments, art. ii. 

t Congress has authority to impose a direct tax on the District of Columbia, in propor- 
tion to the census dii'ected to be talien by the coustitutioa. — Loughborough vs. Blake, 5 
Wheaton, 317. 

But Congress are not bound to extend a direct tax to the district and territories.— Id., 322. 

The power of Congress to exercise exclusive jurisdiction in all cases whatsoever within 
the District of Colunibia, includes the power of taxing it.— Id., 324. 

J Whenever the terms in which a power is granted by the constitution to Congress, or 
whenever the nature of the power itself requires that it should be exercised exclusively by 
Congress, the subject is as completely taken away from the stale legislatures as if they had 
been expressly forbidden to act on H.—Sturgess vs. Cromiinshieid^ 4 Wheaton, 193. 

Con<^ress has power to incorporate a bank. — McCulloch vs. State of Maryland, 4 mieaton, 
316. . . 

The power of establishing a corporation is not a distinct sovereign power or end of gov- 
ernment, but only the means of carrying into effect other powers which are sovereign. 
Whenever it becomes an appropriate means of exercising any of the powers given by the 
constitution to the government of the Union, it may be exercised by that government. — Id., 
411,421. , . 

If a certain means to carry into effect any of the powers expressly given by the constitu- 
tion to the government of the Union, be an appropriate measure, not prohibited by the 
constitution, the degree of its necessity is a question of legislative discretion, not of judi- 
cial cognizance. — 7a'.,42!. . , ., 

The act of the 19th April, IS16, chap. 44, to incorporate the subscribers to the bank of 
the United States, is a law made in pursuance of the constitution.— Id., 424. 

The bank of the United States has constitutionally a right to establish its branches or 
offices of discount and deposite within any state.— 7d., 424. 

There is nothing in the constitution of the United'States similar to the articles of confed- 
eration, which excludes incidental or implied powers.— Jd., 403. 

If the end be legitimate, and within the scope of the constitution, all the means which are 
appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, and which are not prohibited, may con- 
stitutionally be employed to carry it into effect.— /d., 421. 

The powers granted to Congress are not exclusive of similar powers existing in the 
states, unless where the constitution has expressly in terms given an exclusive power to 
Congress, or the exercise of a like power is prohibited to the states, or there is a direct re- 
pugnancy or incompatibility in the exercise of it by the states.— Howsion vs. Moore, 5 Whea- 
toi^, 49. 

The example of the first class is to be found in the exclusive legislation delegated to Con- 
gress over places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state jn which the same 
shall be for forts, arsenals, dockyards, &c. Of the second class, the prohibition of a state 
to coin money or emit bills of credit. Of the third class, the power to establish a uni- 
form rule of naturalization, and the delegation of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. 
— 7d., 49. 

In all other classes of cases the states retain concurrent authority with Congress. — Id., 48. 

But in cases of concurrent authority, where the laws of the states and of the Union are 
in direct and manifest collision on the same subject, those of the Union being the supreme 
law of the land, are of paramount authority, and the state so far, and so far only as such 
incompatibility exists, must necessarily yield. — Id., 49. 

The state within wluch a branch of the United States bank may be established, can not, 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 563 

the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, but 
a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten dol- 
lars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may re- 
quire it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to 
the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or revenue 
to the ports of one state over those of another : nor shall vessels bound to, 
or from, one state, be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in another. 

No money shall be drawn from the treasury, but in consequence of ap- 
propriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of the 
receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time 
to time. 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : And no per- 
son holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the con- 
sent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of 
any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Section 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confedera- 
tion ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of 
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts,* or grant any title of nobility. 

without violating the constitution, tax that branch. — McCulloch vs. State of Maryland, 4 
Wheaton, 425. 

The state governments have no right to tax any of the constitutional means employed by 
the government of the Union to execute its constitutional powers. — Id., 427. 

The states have no power by taxation, or otherwise, to retard, impede, burden, or in any 
manner control, the operation of the constitutional laws enacted by Congress, to carry into 
effect the powers vested in the national government. — Id., 436. 

This principle does not extend to a tax paid by the real property of the bank of the Uni- 
ted States, in common with the other real property in a particular state, nor to a tax im- 
posed on the proprietary which the citizens of that state may hold in common with the 
other property of the same description throughout the state. — Id., 436. 

* Where a law is in its nature a contract, where absolute rights have vested under that 
contract, a repeal of the law can not divest those rights. — Fletctier vs. Peck, 6 Cranch, 88. 

A party to a contract can not pronounce its own deed invalid, although that party be a 
sovereign state. — Id., 88. 

A grant is a contract executed. — Id., 89. 

A law annulling conveyance is unconstitutional, because it is a law impairing the obliga- 
tion of contracts within the meaning of the constitution of the United States. — Id. 

The court will not declare a law to be unconstitutional, unless the opposition between the 
constitution and the law be clear and plain. — Id., 87. 

An act of the legislature of a state, declaring that certain lands which should be pur- 
chased for the Indians should not thereafter be subject to any tax, constituted a contract 
■which could not, after the adoption of the constitution of the United States, be rescinded 
by a subsequent legislative act ; such rescinding act being void under the constitution of the 
United States. — State of New Jersey vs. Wilson, 7 Cranch, 164. 

The present constitution of the United States did not commence its operation until the 
first Wednesday in March, 1789, and the provision in the constitution, that " no state shall 
make any law impairing the obligation of contracts," does not extend to a state law enacted 
before that day, and operating upon rights of property vesting before that time. — Oxvinss vs 
Speed, b Wheaton, ^^0,^21. ^ 

An act of a state legislature, which discharges a debtor from all liability for debts con- 
tracted previous to his discharge, on his surrendering his property for the benefit of his 
creditors, is a law impairing " the obligations of contracts," within the meaning ol the con- 
stitution of the United States, so far as it attempts to discharge the contract ; and it makes 
no difference in such a case, that the suit was brought in a state court of the state of which 
both the parties were citizens where the contract was madej and the discharge obtained. 



564 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

No State shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts or 
duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary for 
executing its inspection laws : and the net produce of all duties and im- 
posts, laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the 
treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the 
revision and control of the Congress. 

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty of ton- 
nage, keep troops, or ships-of-war in time of peace, enter into any agree- 
ment or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or engage in 
war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will not admit 
of delay. 

ARTICLE II. 

Section 1. The executive power shall be vested in a president of the 
United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term of 
four years,* and, together with the vice-president, chosen for the same 
term, be elected, as follows : 

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the legislature thereof may 
direct,! a number of electors, equal to the whole number of senators and 
representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress : but 
no senator or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit 
under the United States, shall be appointed an elector. 

[|Tiie electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by ballot for two per- 
sons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with them- 
selves. And they shall make a list of all the persons voted for, and of the number of 
votes for each ; which list they shall sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat 
of the government of the United States, directed to the president of the senate. The 
president of the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representa- 
tives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person hav- 
ing the greatest number of votes shall be the president, if such number be a majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed; and if there be more than one who have 
such majority, and have an equal number of votes, then the house of representatives 
shall immediately choose by ballot one of them for president ; and if no person have 
a majority, then from the five highest on the list the said house shall in like manner 
choose the president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be taken by 
states, the representation from each state having one vote; a quorum for this purpose 
shall consist of a member or members from two thirds of the states, and a majority of 

and where they continued to reside until the suit was brought. — Farmers and Mechanics' 
Bank vs. Smith, 6 Wlieaton, 131. 

The act of New York, passed on the 3d of April, ISll (which not only liberates the per- 
son of the debtor, but discharges him from all liability for any debt contracted previous to 
his discharge, on his surrendering his property in the manner it prescribes), so far as it at- 
tempts to discharge the contract, is a law impairing the obligation of contracts within the 
meaning of the constitution of the United States, and is not a good plea in bar of an actioa 
brought upon such contract. — Sturgess vs. Crowninshield, 4 Wheaton, 122, 197. 

Statutes of limitation and usury laws, unless retroactive in their effect, do not impair the 
obligation of contracts, and are constitutional. — Id., 206. 

A state bankrupt or insolvent law (which not only liberates the person of the debtor, but 
discharges him from all liability for the debt), so far as it attempts to discharge the con- 
tract, is repugnant to the constitution of the IJnited States, and it makes no ditference in 
the application of this principle, whether the law was passed before or after the debt was 
contracted.— McMiZ/ara vs. McNeill, 4 Wheaton, 209. 

The charter granted by the British crown to the trustees of Dartmouth college, in New 
Hampshire, in the year 1769, is a contract within the meaning of that clause of the consti- 
tution of the United States (art. i., sect. 10) which declares, that no state shall make any 
law impairing the obligations of contracts. The charter was not dissolved by the revolu- 
tion. — ColU'^e vs. Woodard, 4 Wlieaton, 518. 

An act of the state legislature of New Hampshire, altering the charter of Dartmouth col- 
lege in a material respect, without the consent of the corporation, is an act impairing the 
obligation of the charter, and is unconstitutional and void. — Id., 518. 

* See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 109, sect. 12. 

f See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 109. % Vide amendments, art. xii. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 5C5 

all the states shall be necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the 
president, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the 
vice-president. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the 
senate shall choose from them by ballot the vice-president.*] 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the electors,! and 
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the 
same throughout the United States 4 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, 
at the time of the adoption of this constitution, shall be eligible to the office 
of president ; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall 
not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a 
resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the president from office, or of his death, resig- 
nation,^ or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said office, 
the same shall devolve on the vice-president, and the Congress may by 
law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation or inability, both 
of the president and vice-president, declaring what officer shall then act 
as president, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the disability be 
removed, or a president shall be elected. || 

The president shall, at stated times, receive for his services, a compen- 
sation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the period 
for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that 
period any other emolument from the United States, or any of them. 

Before he enter on the execution of his office, he shall take the follow- 
ing oath or affirmation : — " I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that 1 will 
faithfully execute the office of president of the United States, and will to 
the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the 
United States." 

Section 2. The president shall be commander-in-chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when 
called into the actual service of the United States ;T[ he may require the 
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive depart- 
ments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, 
and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against 
the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, 
to make treaties, provided two thirds of the senators present concur ; and 
he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, 
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of 
the supreme court, and all other officers of the United States, whose ap- 
pointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which sha^ be es- 

* This clause is annulled. See amendmen'ts, art. xii. 

t See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 104, sect. 1. 

j See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 109, sect. 2. 

§ See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 104, sect. 11. 

II See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 109, sect. 9 ; and vol. iii., chap. 403. 

IT The act of the state of Pennsylvania, of the 2Sth March, 1814 (providing, sect. 21, that 
the officers and privates of the militia of that state neglecting or refusing to serve when 
called into actual service, in pursuance of any order or requisition of the president of the 
United States, shall be liable to the penalties defined in the act of Congress of 2Sth Febru- 
ary, 179,5, chap. 277, or to any penalty which may have been prescribed since the date of 
that act, or which may hereafter be prescribed by any law of the United States, and also 
providing for the trial of such delinquents by a state court-martial, and that a list of the 
delinquents fined by such court should be furnished to the marshal of the United States, 
&c. ; and also to the comptroller of the treasury of the United States, in order that the fur- 
ther pniceedings directed to be had thereon by the laws of the United Slates miglit be com- 
pleted), is not" repugnant to the constitution and laws of the United Slates. — Houston \3- 
Moore, 5 JV/ieaton, 1, 12. 



5C6 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, 

tablished by law : but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of 
such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the president alone, in the 
courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The president shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen 
during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions which shall ex- 
pire at the end of their next session. 

Section 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress informa- 
tion of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such 
measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extra- 
ordinary occasions, convene both houses, or either of them, and in case 
of disagreement between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, 
he may adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall re- 
ceive ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the 
laws be faithfidly executed, and shall commission all the officers of the 
United States. 

Section 4. The president, vice-president and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con- 
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE III. 

Section 1. The judicial power of the United States, shall be vested in 
one supreme court, and in such inferior courts as the Congress may from 
time to time ordain and establish.* The judges, both of the supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at 
stated times, receive for their services, a compensation, which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. f 

Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; — to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls ; — to all cases 
of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; — to controversies to which the 
United States shall be a party ; — to controversies between two or more 
states ; — between a state and citizens of another state ; — between citizens 
of different states,;}: — between citizens of the same state claiming lands 
under grants of different states, and between a state, or the citizens thereof, 
and foreign states, citizens or subjects. § 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, 
and those in which a state shall be party, the supreme court shall have 
original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the supreme 
court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such 
exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.| 

• Congress may constitutionally impose upon the judges of the supreme court of the Uni- 
ted States the burden of holding circuit courts. — Stuart vs. Laird, 1 Cranch, 299. 

t See laws of the United States, vol. ii., chap. 20. 

X A citizen of the District of Columbia is not a citizen of a state within the meaning of 
the constitution of the United States. — Hepburn et al vs. EUzey, 2 Crunch, 445. 

§ The supreme court of the United States has not power to issue a mandamus to a secre. 
tary of state of the United States, it being an exercise of original jurisdiction not warranted 
by the constitution, notwithstanding the act of Congress. — Marbury vs. Madison, 1 Cranch, 
137. 

See a restriction of this provision. — Amendments, art. xi. 

II The appellate jurisdiction of the supreme court of the United States extends to a finaJ 
judgment or decree in any suit in the highest court of law, or equity of a state, where is 
drawn in question the validity of a treaty, &c. — Martin vs. Hunter's lessee, 1 W/ieaton, 304. 

Such judgment, &c., may be re-examined by writ of error, in the same manner as if ren- 
dered in a circuit court. — Id. 

If the cause has been once remanded before, and the state court decline or refuse to carry 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 567 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall 
have been committed ; but when not committed within any state, the trial 

into effect the mandate of the supreme court thereon, this court will proceed to a final de- 
cision of llie same, and award execution thereon. 

Quere. — Whether this court has authority to issue a mandamus to the state court to en- 
force a former judgment ^ — Id., 362. 

If the validity or construction of a treaty of the United States is drawn in question, and 
the decision is against its validity, or the title specially set up by either party under the 
treaty, this court has jurisdiction to ascertain that title, and determine its legal vaJidity, 
and is not confined to the abstract construction of the treaty itself — Id., 362. 

Qucre. — Whether the courts of the United States have jurisdiction of offences at common 
law against the United States ? — United States vs. Coolidge, 1 Wheaton, 415. 

The courts of the United States have exclusive jurisdiction of all seizures made on land 
or water for a breach of the laws of the United States, and any intervention of a state au- 
thority, which by taking the thing seized out of the hands of the United States' ofiicer, 
might obstruct the exercise of this jurisdiction, is illegal. — Slocum vs. Mayherry et al, 2 
Wkeaton ,1,9. 

In such a case the court of the United States have cognizance of the seizure, may enforce 
a redelivery of the thing by attachment or other summary process. — Id., 9. 

The question under such a seizure, whether a forfeiture has been actually incurred, be- 
longs exclusively to the courts of the United States, and it depends upon the final decree 
of such courts, whether the seizure is to be deemed rightful or tortuous. — Id., 9, 10. 

If the seizing officer refuse to institute proceedings to ascertain the forfeiture, the district 
court may, on application of the aggrieved party, compel the officer to proceed to adjudica- 
tion, or to abandon the seizure. — Id., 10. 

The jurisdiction of the circuit court of the United States extends to a case between citi- 
zens of Kentucky, claiming lands exceeding the value of five hundred dollars, under differ- 
ent grants, the one issued by the state of I-Centucky, and the other by the state of Virginia, 
upon warrants issued by Virginia, and locations founded thereon, prior to the separation of 
Kentucky from Virginia. It is the grant which passes the legal title to the land, and if the 
controversy is founded upon the conflicting grants of different states, the judicial power of 
the courts of the United States extends to the case, whatever may have been the equitable 
title of the parties prior to the grant. — Colson et al vs. Lewis, 2 TVIieaton , 377. 

Under the judiciary of 1789, chap. 20. sect. 25, giving appellate jurisdiction to the supreme 
court of the United Stales, from the final judgment or decree of the highest court of law or 
equity of a state, in certain cases the writ of error may be directed to any court in which 
the record and judgment on which it is to act may be found ; and if the record has been re- 
mitted by the highest court, &c., to another court of the state, it may be brought by the 
writ of error frotn that court. — Gelston vs. Hoyt, 3 W/ieato7i, 246, 303. 

The remedies in the courts of the United States at common law and in equity are to be, 
not according to the practice of state courts, but according to the principles of common law 
and equity as defined in England. This doctrine reconciled with the decisions of the courts 
of Tennessee, permitting an equitable title to be asserted in an action at law. — Robinson vs. 
Campbell, 3 l-fheatoyi, 221. 

Remedies in respect to real property, are to be pursued according to the lex loci rei sitM. 
—Id., 219. 

The courts of the United States have exclusive cognizance of questions of forfeiture upoa 
all seizures made under the laws of the United States, and it is not competent for a state 
court to entertain or decide such question of forfeiture. If a sentence of condemnation be 
definitively pronounced by the proper court of the United States, it is conclusive that a for- 
feiture is incurred ; if a sentence of acquittal, it is equally conclusive against the forfeiture, 
and in either case the question can not be again litigated in any common law for ever. — Gel- 
ston vs. Hoyt, 3 Wheaton, 246, 311. 

Where a seizure is made for a supposed forfeiture under a law of the United States, no 
action of trespass lies in any common-law tribunal, until a final decree is pronounced upon 
the proceeding in rem to enforce such forfeiture : for it depends upon the final decreee of 
the court proceeding in rem, whether such seizure is to be deemed rightful or tortuous, and 
the action, if brought before such decree is made, is brought too soon. — Id., 313. 

If a suit be brought against the seizing ofiicer for the supposed trespass while the suit 
for the forfeiture is depending, the fact of such pending may be pleaded in abatement, or as 
a temporary bar of the action. If after a decree of condemnation, then that fact may be 
pleaded as a bar : if after an acquittal with a certificate of reasonable cause of seizure, then 
that may be pleaded as a bar. If after an acquittal without such certificate, then the officer 
is without any justification for the seizure, and it is definitively settled to be a tortuous act. 
If to an action of trespass in a state court for a seizure, the seizing officer plead the fact of 
forfeiture in his defence without averring a lis pendens, or a condemnation, or an acquittal, 
with a certificate of reasonable cause of seizure, the plea is bad: for it attempts to put in 
issue the question of forfeiture in a state court. — Id., 314. 

Supposing that the third article of the constitution of the United States which declares, 
that " the judicial power shall extend to all cases of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction" 



5G8 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law hare di- 
rected.* 

Section 3. Treason against the United States, shall consist only in 

vested in the United States exclusive jurisdiction of all such cases, and that a murder com- 
mitted in the waters of a state where the tide ebb^ and flows, is a case of admiralty and 
maritime jurisdiction ; yet Congress have not, in the Sth section of the act of 1790, chap. 9, 
" for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States,'' so exercised this power, 
as to confer on the courts of the United States jurisdiction over such murder. — United States 
vs. Bevans, 3 Wkeaton, 336, 387. 

Quere. — Whether courts of common law have concurrent jurisdiction with the admiralty 
over murder committed in bays, &c., which are enclosed parts of the sea ? — Id., 3b7. 

The grant to the United States in the constitution of all cases of admiralty and maritime 
jurisdiction, does not extend to a cession of the waters in which those cases may arise, or 
of general jurisdiction over the same. Congress may pass all laws which are necessary for 
giving the most complete effect to the exercise of the admiralty and maritime jurisdiction 
granted to the government of the Union ; but the general jurisdiction over the place subject 
to this grant, adheres to the territory as a portion of territory not yet given away, and the 
residuary powers of legislation stUl remain in the state. — /(/.,'389. 

The supreme court of the United States has constitutionally appellate jurisdiction under 
the judiciary act of 17&9, chap. 20, sect. 25, from the final judgment or decree of the highest 
court of law or equity of a state having jurisdiction of the subject matter of the suit, where 
is drawn in question the validity of a treaty or statute of, or an authority exercised under, 
the United States, and the decision is against their validity : or where is drawn in question 
the validity of a statute of, or an authority exercised under any state, on the ground of their 
being repugnant to the constitution, treaties, or laws of the United States, and the decision 
is in favor of such their validity : or of the constitution, or of a treaty, or statute of, or com- 
mission held under the United States, and the decision is against the title, right, privilege, 
or exemption, specially set up or claimed by either party under such clause of the constitu- 
tion, treat)', statute, or commission. — Cohens vs. Virginia, 6 Wheaton, 264, 375. 

It is no objection to the exercise of this appellate jurisdiction, that one of the parties is a 
state, and the other a citizen of that state. — Id. 

The circuit courts of the Union have chancery jurisdiction in every state : they have the 
same chancery powers, and the same rules of decision in equity cases, in all the states. — 
United States vs. Houiand, 4 Wkeaton, lOS, 115. 

Resolutions of the legislature of Virginia of ISIO, upon the proposition from Pennsylvania 
to amend the constitution, so as to provide an impartial tribunal to decide disputes be- 
tween the state and federal judiciaries. — Note to Cotiens vs. Virginia. Notes 6 Wheaton, 35S. 

Where a cause is brought to this court by writ of error, or appeal from the highest court 
of law, or equity of a state, under the 25th section of the judiciary act of 17S9, chap. 20, 
upon the ground that the validity of a statute of the United States was drawn in question, 
and that the decision of the state court was against its validity, &c., or that the validity of 
the statute of a state was drawn in question as repugnant to the constitution of the United 
States, arrd the decision was in favor of its validity, it must appear from the record, that the 
act of Congress, or the constitutionality of the state law, was arawn in question. — Miller vs. 
Nickolls, 4 Wheaton, 311, 315. 

But it is not required that the record should in terms state a misconstruction of the act 
of Congress, or that it was drawn into question. It is sufficient to give this court jurisdic- 
tion of the cause, that the record should show that an act of Congress was applicable to the 
case. — Id., 315. 

The supreme court of the United States has no jurisdiction under the 25th section of the 
judiciary act of 17S9, chap. 20, unless the judgment or decree of the state court be a final 
judgment or decree. A judgment reversing that of an inferior court, and awarding a venire 
Jhcias de novo, is not a final judgment. — Houston vs. Moore, 3 Wheaton, 433. 

By the compact of 1S02, settling the boundary line between Virginia and Tennessee, and 
the laws made in pursuance thereof, it is declared that all claims and titles to land derived 
from Virginia, or North Carolina, or Tennessee, which have fallen into the respective states, 
shall remain as secure to the owners thereof, as if derived from the government within whose 
boundary they have fallen, and shall not be prejudiced or affected by the establishment of 
the line. Where the titles of both the plaintiff and defendant in ejectment were derived 
under grant from Virginia to lands which fell within the limits of Tennessee, it was held 
that a prior settlement right thereto, which would in equity give the party a title, could not 
be asserted as a sufficient title in an action of ejectment brought in the circuit court of Ten- 
nessee. — Robinson vs. Campbell, 3 Wheaton, 212. 

Although the state courts of Tennessee have decided that, under their statutes (declaring 
an elder grant founded on a junior entry to be void), a junior patent, founded on a prior en- 
try, shall prevail at law against a senior patent founded on a junior entry, this doctrine has 
never been extended beyond cases within the express provision of the statute of Tennessee, 
and could not apply to titles deriving all their validity from the laws of Virginia, and con- 
firmed by the compact between the two states. — Id., 212. 

• See amendments, art. vi. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 569 

levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. 

No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the testimony of two 
witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason, 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture ex- 
cept during the life of the person attainted.* 

ARTICLE IV. 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the pub- 
lic acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. f And the 
Congress may by general laws prescribe the manner in which such acts, 
records and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof.^ 

Section 2. The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, who 
shall flee from justice, and be found in another state, shall on demand of 
the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered up, to 
be removed to the state having jurisdiction of the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation 
therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered 
up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Section 3. New states may be admitted by the Congress into this 
Union ; but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction 
of any other state ; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more 
states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states 
concerned as well as of the Congress. 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful rules 
and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the 
United States ; and nothing in this constitution shall be so construed as to 
prejudice any claims of the United States, or of any particular state. 

Section 4. The United States shall guaranty to every state in this 
Union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them 
against invasion ; and on application of the legislature, or of the executive 
(when the legislature can not be convened) against domestic violence. 

ARTICLE V. 
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it neces- 
sary, shall propose amendments to this constitution, or, on the application 
of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a conven- 
tion for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all 
intents and purposes, as part of this constitution, when ratified by the legis- 
latures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three 
fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be pro- 
posed by the Congress ; provided that no amendment which may be made 

• See laws of the United States, vol. ii., chap. 36. 

f A judgment of a state court has the same credit, validity, and efTect, in every other court 
■within the United States, which it had in tlie court where it was rendered ; and whatever 
pleas would be good to a suit thereon in such state, and none others can be pleaded in any 
other court within the United States. — Hampton vs. McConnell, 3 Wheaton, 234. 

The record of a judgment in one state is conclusive evidence in another, although it ap- 
pears that the suit in which it was rendered, was commenced by an attachment of property, 
the defendant having afterward appeared and taken defence. — Mayhew vs. Thacher, 6 Whea- 
ton, 129. 

\ See laws United States, vol. ii., chap. 38 j and vol. iii., chap. 409. 



570 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any man- 
ner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first arti- 
cle ; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal 
suffrage in the senate.* 

ARTICLE VI. 

All debts contracted and engagements entered into, before the adoption 
of this constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this 
constitution, as under the confederation. 

This constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made 
in pursuance thereof ; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, un- 
der the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land ;t 
and the judges in eveiy state shall be bound thereby, anything in the con- 
stitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.:]: 

The senators and representatives before mentioned, and the m.embers 
of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both 
of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or 
affirmation, to support this constitution ;'^ but no religious test shall ever 
be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United 
States. 

ARTICLE VIL 

The ratification of the conventions of nine states, shall be sufficient for the 
establishment of this constitution between the states so ratifying the same. 
Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Ijord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven and of the independence of the United 
States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have hereunto 
subscribed our names. 

Go. Washington, 
President, and deputy from Virginia. 
PENNSYLVANIA. 
Benjamin Franklin, 
Thomas Mifflin, 
Robert Morris, 
George Clymer, 
Thomas Fitzsimons, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
James Wilson, 
Gouverneur Morris. 
DELAWARE. 
George Reed, 
Gunning Bedford, jr., 
John Dickinson, 
Richard Bassett, 
Jacob Broom. 

MARYLAND. 
James M'Henry, 
Daniel of St. Tho. Jenifer, 
Daniel Carroll. 

William Jackson, Secretary. 

• See ante art. i., sect. 3, clause L 

t An act of Congress repugnant to the constitution can not become a law. — Mnrhvrv vs. 
Madison, 1 Crancli, 176. 

X The courts of the United States are bound to take notice of the constitution.— MarftMrw 
vs. Madison, 1 Cranch, 178. 

A contemporary exposition of the constitution, practised and acquiesced under for a period 
of years, fixes Us construction.— S/war^ vs. Laird, 1 Cranch, 299. 

The government of the Union, though limited in its powers, is supreme within its sphere 
of action, and its laws, when made in pursuance of the constitution, form the supreme law 
ol the \a.nd—McCvUoch vs. Sratc of Maryland, 4 Wheaton, 405. 

§ See laws of the United States, vol. ii., ciKip. 1. 



NEW HAMPSHIRE. 
John Langdon, 
Nicholas Gilman. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 
Nathaniel Gouham. 
RuFus King. 

CONNECTICUT. 

William Samuel Johnson, 
Roger Sherman. 

NEW YORK. 
Alexander Hamilton. 

NEW JERSEY. 

William Livingston, 
David Brearley, 
William Paterson, 
Jonathan Dayton. 

Attest : 



VIRGINIA. 
John Blair, 
James Madison, jr. 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

William Blount, 
Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
Hugh Williamson. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 
John Rutledge, 
Charles C. Pinckney, 
Charles Pinckney, 
Pierce Butler. 

GEORGIA. 

William Few, 
Abraham Baldwin. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 571 



AMENDMENTS* 

TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES, RATIFIED ACCORDING TO 
THE PROVISIONS OF THE FIFTH ARTICLE OF THE FOREGOING CONSTI- 
TUTION. 

Article the first. Congress shall make no law respecting an estab- 
lishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging 
the freedom of speech, or of the press ; or the right of the people peacea- 
bly to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. 

Article the second. A well-regulated militia, being necessaiy to the 
security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall 
not be infringed. 

Article the third. No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in 
any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in a time of war, but iu 
a manner to be prescribed by law. 

Article the fourth. The right of the people to be secure in their 
persons, houses, papers, and eflects, against unreasonable searches and 
seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon prob- 
able cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing 
the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. 

Article the fifth. No person shall be held to answer for a capital, 
or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a 
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the 
militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall 
any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of 
life or limb ; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness 
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due 
process of law ; nor shall private property be taken for public use, with- 
out just compensation. 

Article the sixth. In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall en- 
joy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state 
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district 
shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the 
nature and cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses 
against him ; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his fa- 
vor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence. 

Article the seventh. In suits at common law, where the value in 
controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be 
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in 
any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common 
law.f 

Article the eighth. Excessive bail shall not be required, nor exces- 
sive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

* Congress, at its first session, begun and held in the city of New York, on Wednesday, 
the 4th of March, 1789, proposed to the legislatures of the several states twelve amend- 
ments to the constitution, ten of which, only, were adopted. 

t The act of assembly of Maryland, of 1793, chap. 30, incorporating the bank of Colum- 
bia, and giving to the corporation a summary process by execution in the nature of an at- 
tacliment against its debtors who have, by an express consent in writing, made the bonds, 
bills, or notes, by them drawn or endorsed, negotiable at the hank, is not repugnant to the 
constitution of the United States or of Marylaiid.— £anA: of Columbia vs. Okeiy, 4 Wheaton, 
23G, 249. 

But the last provision in the act of incorporation, which gives this summary process to 
the bank, is no part of its corporate franctuse and may be repealed or altered at pleasure 
by the legislative will. — Id., 245. 



572 CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Article the ninth. The enumeration in the constitution, of certain 
rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the 
people. 

Article the tenth. The powers not delegated to the United States, 
by the constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the 
states respectively, or to the people.* 

Article the eleventh.! The judicial power of the United States shall 
not be construed to extend to any suit in law or equity, commenced or 
prosecuted against one of the United States by citizens of another state, 
or by citizens or subjects of any foreign state. 

Article the twelfth. | The electors shall meet in their respective 
states, and vote by ballot for president and vice-president, one of whom, 
at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they 
shall name in their ballots the person voted for as president, and in distinct 
ballots the person voted for as vice-president, and they shall make distinct 
lists of all persons voted for as president, and of all persons voted for as 
vice-president, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall 
sign and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the 
United States, directed to the president of the senate ;^ — the president of 
the senate shall, in the presence of the senate and house of representa- 
tives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted ; — the 
person having the greatest number of votes for president, shall be the pres- 
ident, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors ap- 
pointed ; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons hav- 
ing the highest numbers not exceeding three on the list of those voted for 
as president, the house of representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the president. But in choosing the president, the votes shall be 
taken by states, the representation from each state having one vote ; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two 

* The powers granted to Congress are not exclusive of similar powers existing in the 
states, unless where the constitution has expressly in terms given an exclusive power to 
Congress, or the exercise of a like power is prohibited to the states, or there is a direct re- 
pugnancy or incompatibihty in the exercise of it by the states. — Houston vs. Moore, 5 Whea- 
ton, 1, 12. 

The example of the first class is to be found in the exclusive legislation delegated to Con- 
gress over places purchased by the consent of the legislature of the state in which the same 
shall be for forts, arsenals, dockyards, &c. Of the second class, the prohibition.of a state 
to coin money or emit bills of credit. Of the third class, the power to establish a uniform 
rule of naturalization, and the delegation of admiralty and maritime jurisdiction. — Id., 49. 

In all other classes of cases, the states retain concurrent authority with Congress. — Id. 49. 

But in cases of concurrent authority, where the laws of the states and the Union are in 
direct and manifest collision on the same subject, those of tlie Union being the supreme law 
of the laud are of paramount authority, and the state laws so far, and so far only as such 
incompatibility exists, must necessarily yield. — Id., 49. 

There is nothing in the constitution of the United States similar to the articles of confed- 
eration, which excludes incidental or implied powers. — McCullochys. State of Maryland, 4 
Wheaton, 406. 

If the end be legitimate, and within the scope of the constitution, all the means which are 
appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, and which are not prohibited, may con- 
stitutionally be employed to carry it into effect. — Id., 421. 

The act of Congress of 4th May, 1812, entitled, " An act further to amend the charter of 
the city of Washington,"' which provides (sect. 6) that the corporation of the city shall be 
empowered for certain purposes and under certain restrictions, to authorize the drawing of 
lotteries, does not extend to authorize the corporation to force the sale of the tickets in such 
lottery in states where such sale may be prohibited by the state laws. — Cohens vs. Virginia, 
6 Wheaton, 264, 375. 

t This amendment was proposed at the first session of the third Congress. See ante art. 
iii., sect. 2, clause I. 

X Proposed at the first session of the eighth Congress. See ante art. ii., sect. 1, clause 3. 
Annulled by this amendment. 

§ See laws of the United States, vol. ii., chap. 109, sect. 5. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 573 

thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to 
a choice. And if the house of representatives shall not choose a presi- 
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 
fourth day of March next following, then the vice-president shall act as 
president, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of 
the president. The person having the greatest number of votes as vice- 
president, shall be the vice-president, if such number be a majority of the 
whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a majority, then 
from the two highest numbers on the list, the senate shall choose the vice- 
president ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two thirds of the whole 
number of senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary 
to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of pres- 
ident shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States. 

Note. — Another amendment was proposed as article xiii., at the second session of the 
eleventh Congress, but not having been ratified by a sufficient number of states, has not yet 
become valid as a part of- the constitution of the United States. It is erroneously given as 
a part of the constitution, ui page 74, vol i., laws of the United States 



I have examined and compared the foregoing print of the constitution of the United States, 
and the amendments thereto, with tlie rolls in this office, and find it a faithful and literal 
copy of the said constitution and amendments, in the text and punctuation thereof. It ap- 
pears that the first ten amendments, which were proposed at the first session of the first 
Congress of the United States, were finally ratified by the constitutional number of states, 
on the 15th day of December, 1791 ; that the eleventh amendment, which was proposed at 
the first session of the third Congress, was declared, in a message from the president of the 
United States to both houses of Congress, dated Sth January, 1798, to have been adopted by 
three fourths, the constitutional number of states ; and that the twelfth amendment, which 
was proposed at the first session of the eighth Congress, was adopted by three fourths, the 
constitutional number of states, in the year one thousand eight hundred and four, according 
to a public notice thereof, by the secretary of state, under date the 25th of September, of the 
same year. 

Daniel Brent, Chief Clerk. 

Department of State, Washington, 25th Feb., 1828. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 



Ji. brief History of the Events and Circumstances which led to the Union 
of the States, and the formation of the Constitution. 

In the early history of the New England colonies, we find the first in- 
stance of the association of the people of America for mutual defence and 
protection, while they owed allegiance to the British crown. In 1643, the 
colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, Connecticut, and New Haven, un- 
der the impression of danger from the surrounding tribes of Indians, en- 
tered into a league, offensive and defensive, firm and perpetual, under the 
name of the United Colonies of New England. They vested in an an- 
nual congress of commissioners, delegated from each colony, the authority 
to regulate their general concerns, and especially to levy war and make 
requisitions of men and money, upon the several members of the union in 
a ratio to their respective numbers. This confederacy subsisted for up- 
ward of forty years, and, for part of the time, with the countenance of the 
government in England, and was dissolved under King James II., in the 
year 1686. 

This association is generally considered as the foundation of subsequent 
efforts for a more extensive and perfect union of the British North Ameri- 
can colonies ; and the people of this country continued, after the dissolu- 
tion of this league, to afford other instructive precedents of associations 
for their safety. A congress of governors and commissioners from other 
colonies, as well as from New England, was occasionally held, the better 
to make arrangements for the protection of their interior frontier, of which 
we have an instance at Albany, in the year 1722 ; and a much more in- 
teresting congress was held at the same place in the year 1754, which 
consisted of commissioners from the colonies of New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ma- 
ryland. It was called at the instance of the British government, to take 
into consideration the best means of defending America, as a war with 
France was then apprehended. The object of the British government, in 
calling this congress, was to effect treaties with the Indian tribes ; but the 
commissioners, among whom was Dr. Franklin, and other distinguished 



576 Historical sketch of t!ik amkricax union. 

men in the colonies, had more enlarged views. They asserted and pro- 
mulgated some invaluable truths, the proper reception of which in the 
minds of their countrymen prepared the way for their future independence 
and union. The commissioners unanimously resolved that a union of the 
colonies was absolutely necessary for their preservation. They likewise 
rejected all proposals for a division of the colonies into separate confeder- 
acies, and adopted a plan of federal government, drawn up by Dr. Frank- 
lin, consisting of a general council of delegates, to be chosen by the 
provincial assemblies, and a president general to be appointed by the 
crown. In this council were proposed to be vested, subject to the nega- 
tive of the president, many of the rights of war and peace, and the right 
to lay and levy imposts and taxes ; and the union was to embrace all the 
colonies from New Hampshire to Georgia. But the times were not yet 
ripe, nor the minds of men sufficiently enlarged, for such a comprehensive 
proposition ; and this bold project for a continental union, had the singular 
fate of being rejected, not only by the king, but by every provincial as- 
sembly. We were to remain some years longer separate and alien com- 
monwealths, emulous of each other in obedience to the parent state, but 
jealous of each other's prosperity, and divided by policy, interest, preju- 
dice, and manners. So strong was the force of these considerations, and 
so exasperated were the people of the colonies against each other in their 
disputes about boundaries, that Dr. Franklin, in the year 1761, observed, 
that a union of the colonies was absolutely impossible, or at least without 
being forced by the most grievous tyranny and oppression.* 

The seeds of union, however, had been sown, and its principles were 
to gather strength and advance toward maturity, when the season of com- 
mon danger approached. When the first attempt upon our liberties was 
made by the British government, by the passage of the stamp act, in 1765, 
a congress of delegates from nine colonies assembled in New York, in 
October of that year, at the instance and recommendation of Massachu- 
setts. The colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and South Caro- 
lina, were represented. This congress adopted a declaration of rights, in 
which, the sole power of taxation was asserted to reside in the colonial 
legislatures, and they also declared, that the restrictions imposed by sev- 
eral late acts of parliament on the colonies were burdensome, and would 
render them unable to purchase the manufactures of Great Britain. An 
address to the king, and a petition to each house of parliament, were 
adopted. 

These state papers evince the talents, as well as firmness, tempered 
with wisdom and moderation, of this first American congress ; composed, 
as it was, of some of the most distinguished statesmen from the several 
colonies therein represented. f 

* Kent's Historical Lecture in 1795. f Pitkin. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION, 577 

The congress of 1765, was only a preparatory step to a more extensive 
and permanent union, whicli took place at Philadelphia, in September, 
1774, and thereby laid the foundations of this great republic. The more 
serious and impending oppressions of the British parliament at this last 
critical era, induced the twelve colonies which spread over this vast 
continent, from Nova Scotia to Georgia, to an interchange of political 
opinions, and to concur in choosing and sending delegates to Philadelphia, 
" with authority and direction to meet and consult together for the common 
welfare." The assembling of this congress was first recommended by a 
town-meeting of the people of Providence, Rhode Island, followed by the 
colonial assemblies of Massachusetts and Virginia, and by other public 
bodies and meetings of the people. In some of the legislatures of the 
colonies, delegates were appointed by the popular or representative 
branch ; and in other cases, they were appointed by conventions of the 
people in the colonies. The congress of delegates (calling themselves, in 
their more formal acts, " the delegates appointed by the good people of 
these colonies") assembled on the 4th of September, 1774 ; and having 
chosen officers, they adopted certain fundamental rules for their proceed- 
ings. All the colonies were represented, except Georgia. 

Thus was organized, under the auspices, and with the consent, of the 
people, acting directly in their primary, sovereign capacity, and without 
the intervention of the functionaries to whom the ordinary powers of gov- 
ernment were delegated in the colonies, the first general or national gov- 
ernment, which has been very aptly called " the revolutionary govern- 
ment," since, in its origin and progress, it was wholly conducted upon 
revolutionary principles. The congress, thus assembled, exercised, de 
facto and de jure, a sovereign authority ; not as the delegated agents of 
the governments de facto of the colonies, but in virtue of original powers 
derived from the people. The revolutionary government thus formed, 
terminated only when it was regularly superseded by the confederated 
government, under articles finally ratified, as we shall see, in 1781.* 

The first and most important of their acts was a declaration, that in de- 
termining questions in this congress, each colony or province should have 
one vote ; and this became the established course during the revolution. 
They proposed a general congress to be held at the same place in May, 
in the next year. They appointed committees to take into consideration 
their rights and grievances ; asserted by number of declaratory resolu- 
tions, what they deemed to be the unalienable rights of English freemen ; 
pointed out to their constituents the system of violence which was pre- 
paring against those rights ; and bound them by the most sacred of all 
ties, the ties of honor and their country, to renounce commerce with Great 
Britain, as being the most salutary means to avert the one, and to secure 
the blessings of the other. These resolutions were received with univer- 
37 * Judge Story's Commentaries. 



578 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 

sal and prompt obedience ; and the union being thus auspiciously formed, 
it was continued by a succession of delegates in Congress ; and through 
every period of the war, and through every revolution of our government, 
it has been revered and cultivated as the tutelary guardian of our lib- 
erties.* 

In May, 1775, the second continental congress of delegates from all the 
colonies (except Georgia), assembled at Philadelphia, and were invested 
by the colonies with very ample discretionary powers. These delegates 
were chosen, as the preceding had been, partly by the popular branch of 
the legislatures when in session, but principally by conventions of the 
people in the various states. In July, Georgia acceded to, and completed 
the confederacy. Hostilities had already commenced in the province of 
Massachusetts Bay, and the unconditional sovereignty of the British parlia- 
ment over the colonies was to be asserted by an appeal to arms. Congress, 
charged with the general interests and superintending direction of the Union, 
and supported by the zeal and confidence of their constituents, prepared 
for defence. They published a declaration of the causes and necessity of 
taking up arms, and forthwith proceeded to levy and organize an army, to 
prescribe rules for the regulation of their land and naval forces, to emit a 
paper currency, contract debts, and exercise all the other prerogatives of 
an independent sovereignty, till at last, on the 4th day of July, 1776, they 
took a separate and equal station among the powers of the earth, by de- 
claring the united colonies to be free and independent states. 

This memorable declaration, in imitation of that published by the Uni- 
ted Netherlands on a similar occasion, recapitulated the oppressions of the 
British king, asserted it to be the natural right of every people to with- 
draw from tyranny, and made a solemn appeal to mankind, in vindication 
of the necessity of the measure. By this declaration, made in the name, 
and by the authority, of the people, these United States were absolved 
from all allegiance to the British crown, and all political connexion be- 
tween them and the state of Great Britain was totally dissolved. The 
principles of self-preservation, and of social happiness, gave a clear sanc- 
tion to this act of separation. When the government established over any 
people becomes incompetent, or destructive to the ends for which it was 
instituted, it is the right and the duty of such people, founded on the law 
of nature, and the reason and practice of mankind, to throw off such gov- 
ernment, and provide new guards for their future security. 

The establishme"nt of the republics of Holland and Switzerland bears a 
striking analogy to that of the United States, in the causes which produced 
them, and in the manner in which they were conducted. The United 
Netherlands were formerly a part of the immense dominions of the Span- 
ish empire ; but the violent government of Philip the Second, and the un- 
relenting intolerance of the inquisition, drove those distant provinces to 

• Kent. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION.' 



579 



onion and resistance. In 1579, by the celebrated treaty of Utrecht, they 
entered into a league for their mutual defence, and that treaty was always 
considered as the bond of their union, and the foundation of their republic. 
But although they had for sometime made open resistance to the force of 
Spain, yet it was not till the 26th of July, 1581, after all hopes of recon- 
ciliation were lost, and the authority of Philip had been for some time 
virtually renounced, that the confederated provinces, equally distinguished 
for their forbearance and firmness, solemnly declared themselves inde- 
pendent states, and absolved from all allegiance to the Spanish crown. It 
is well known that Spain continued to make long and powerful efforts to 
reduce them to obedience, till at last, exhausted herself, she was reluc- 
tantly compelled to a permanent recognition of their independence at the 
treaty of Westphalia. Similar to that of the Netherlands was the case of 
Switzerland, which formerly fell under the dominion of the Germaa em- 
pire, acknowledging the counts of Hapsburg for her protectors, and faith- 
fully preserving her allegiance after that family, under the well-known 
name of the house of Austria, succeeded to the imperial crown. The 
tyranny of the imperial bailiffs became insupportable, and three of the 
Swiss cantons threw off the Austrian yoke in the year 1308, and confed- 
erated together for their common defence. The house of Austria carried 
on an implacable war against them for more than a century. That cele- 
brated confederacy, which originally consisted of only the three cantons 
of Uri, Schweitz, and Underwalden, kept continually increasing in strength, 
by the accession of other cantons from conquest or alliance ; but the union 
of the thirteen cantons was not completed for two centuries, nor was their 
independence fully and finally acknowledged by the house of Austria, till 
the treaty of Westphalia, in 1648.* 

To return to the history of our own government : the general sentiment 
of the importance of the union appears evident in all the early proceedings 
of Congress. In July, 1775, a year before the declaration of independ- 
ence. Dr. Franklin submitted to the consideration of Congress, a sketch 
of articles of confederation between the colonies, to continue until their 
reconciliation with Great Britain, and in failure of that event, to be per- 
petual. This plan appears to have never been discussed in Congress. f 
But during the time that the declaration of independence was under con- 
sideration, Congress took measures for the formation of a constitutional 
plan of union. On the 11th of June, 1776, it was resolved that a committee 
should be appointed to prepare and digest the form of a confederation to be 
entered into between the colonies ; and the day following a committee, con- 
sisting of one member from each colony, was appointed, to perform that duty. 
Upon the report of this committee, which was laid aside on the 20th of 
August, 1776, and not resumed till the 7th of April, 1777, the subject was 
from time to time debated, until the 15th of November, 1777, when a copy 
• Kent's Historical Lecture. f J- Q- Adams's JubOee Discourse, 1839. 



5S0 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 

of the articles of confederation being made out, the same was finally agreed 
to. Congress, at the same time, directed that the articles should be pro- 
posed to the legislatures of all the United States, to be considered, and, if 
approved of by them, they were advised to authorize their delegates to 
ratify the same in the Congress of the United States ; which being done, 
the same should become conclusive. On the 29th of November ensuing, 
a committee of three was appointed, to procure a translation of the articles 
to be made into the French language, and to report an address to the in- 
habitants of Canada, &c. On the 26th of June, 1778, the form of a rati- 
fication of the articles of confederation was adopted, and it was ordered 
that the whole should be engrossed on parchment, with a view that the 
same should be signed by the delegates, in virtue of the powers furnished 
by the several states.* 

On the 9th of July, 1778, the articles were signed by the delegates of 
New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New 
York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina. The delegates from 
New Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland, informed Congress that they had 
not yet received powers to ratify and sign. North Carolina and Georgia 
were not represented — and the ratification of New York was conditional, 
that all the other states should ratify. 

The delegates from North Carolina signed the articles on the 21st of 
July, 1778 ; those of Georgia on the 24th of the same month; those of 
New Jersey on the 26lh of November, 1778 ; those of Delaware on the 
22d of February, and 5th of May, 1779 ; but Maryland held out to the 
last, and positively refused the ratification, until the question of the con- 
flicting claims of the Union and of the separate states, to the property of 
the crown-lands, should be adjusted. This was finally accomplished by 
cessions from the claiming states to the United States, of the unsettled 
lands, for the benefit of the whole Union. 

The cessions of the claiming states of the crown-lands to the Union, 
originated the territorial system, and, eventually, in the ordinance for the 
government of the Northwestern territory (passed by Congress in July, 
1786). It also removed the insuperable objection of the state of Maryland 
to the articles of confederation ; and her delegates signed them on the 1st 
of March, 1781, four years and four months after they had been submitted 
by Congress to the sovereign states, with a solemn averment that they 
could no longer be deferred ; that they seemed essential to the very exist- 
ence of the Union as a free people ; and that, without them, they might be 
constrained to bid adieu to independence, to liberty, and safety. f 

The confederation being thus finally complete, by the ratification of the 
delegates from Mar)4and, on the 1st of March, 1781, the event was joy- 
fully announced by Congress, and, on the 2d of March, that body assem- 
bled \mder the new powers. 

• Force's National Calendar, 1830. f Adams's Jubilee Discourse. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 581 

It will be observed, that the term of the continental Congress is properly 
divided into two periods, namely : the first extending from the first meet- 
ing, on the 4th of September, 1774, until the ratification of the confedera- 
tion, on the 1st of March, 1781 ; the second, from the 1st of March, 1781, 
until the organization of the government under the constitution, on the 4th 
of March, 1789. The first period may be called that of " the revolutionary 
national government ;" the second was that of " the confederation." 

The question naturally presents itself, if the declaration is to be consid- 
ered as a national act, in what manner did the colonies become a nation, 
and in what manner did Congress become possessed of this national pow- 
er ? The true answer must be, that as soon as Congress assumed powers 
and passed measures, which were in their nature national, to that extent 
the people, from whose acquiescence and consent they took effect, must 
be considered as agreeing to form a nation. The Congress of 1774, look- 
ing at the general terms of the commissions under which the delegates 
"were appointed, seem to have possessed the power of concerting such 
measures as they deemed best to redress the grievances, and preserve the 
rights and liberties* of all the colonies. The Congress of 1775 and 1776 
were clothed with more ample powers, and the language of their commis- 
sions generally was sufficiently broad to embrace the right to pass meas- 
ures of a national character and obligation. The Congress of 1775 ac- 
cordingly assumed at once the exercise of some of the highest functions 
of sovereignty. They took measures for national defence and resistance ; 
they followed up the prohibitions upon trade and intercourse with Great 
Britain ; they raised a national army and navy, and authorized limited na- 
tional hostilities against Great Britain ; they raised money, emitted bills 
of credit, and contracted debts upon national account ; they established a 
national postoffice ; and, finally, they authorized captures and condemna- 
tion of prizes in prize courts, with a reserve of appellate jurisdiction to 
themselves. 

The same body, in 1776, took bolder steps, and exerted powers which 
could in no other manner be justified or accounted for, than upon the sup- 
position that a national union for national purposes already existed, and 
that the Congress was invested with sovereign power over' all the colonies, 
for the purpose of preserving the common rights and liberties of all. The 
validity of these acts was never doubted or denied by the people. On the 
contrary, they became the foundation upon which the superstructure of the 
liberties and independence of the United States has been erected. 

From the moment of the declaration of independence, if not for most 
purposes at an antecedent period, the united colonies must be considered 
as being a nation de facto, having a general government over it, created 
and acting by the general consent of the people of the colonies. The 
powers of that government were not, and indeed could not be, well de- 
fined. But still its exclusive sovereignty, in many cases, was firmly es- 



582 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 

tablished ; and its controlling power over the states was in most, if not in 
all national measures, universally admitted. The articles of confederation 
were not ratified so as to become obligatory upon all the states, until 
March, 1781. In the intermediate time, Congress continued to exercise 
the powers of a general government, whose acts were binding on all the 
states. In respect to foreign governments, we were politically known as 
the United States only ; and it was in our national capacity, as such, that 
we sent and received ambassadors, entered into treaties and alliances, and 
were admitted into the general community of nations, who might exercise 
the right of belligerents, and claim an equality of sovereign powers and 
prerogatives.* 

The continental congress, upon trial, soon found that the powers de- 
rived from the articles of confederation were inadequate to the legitimate 
objects of an effective national government. Defects were more particu- 
larly manifest, whenever it became necessary to legislate upon the subject 
of commerce and that of taxes ; and it was at length indispensably neces- 
sary to amend the articles in such a way as to give authority and force to 
the national will in matters of trade and revenue. This was from time to 
time attempted, until the present constitution of the United States was 
adopted. The most important movements in Congress showing the prog- 
ress of constitutional legislation, were on the 3d of February, 1781, April 
18, 1783, April 26, 1783, April 30, 1784, March 3, 1786, September 29, 
1786, and October 23, 1786.t 

Peace came (in 1783). The heroic leader of the revolutionary armies 
surrendered his commission. The armies were disbanded, but they were 
not paid. Mutiny was suppressed ; but not until Congress had been sur- 
rounded by armed men, demanding justice, and appealed in vain for pro- 
tection to the sovereign state within whose jurisdiction they were sitting. 
A single frigate, the remnant of a gallant navy, which had richly shared 
the glories, and deeply suffered the calamities of the war, was dismantled 
and sold. The expenses of the nation were reduced to the minimum of a 
peace estabUshment, and yet the nation was not relieved. The nation 
wanted a government founded on the principles of the Declaration of In- 
dependence — a government constituted by the people. 

In the congress of the confederation, the master-minds of James Madi- 
son and Alexander Hamilton were constantly engaged through the closing 
years of the Revolutionary war, and those of peace which imrrtediately 
succeeded. That of John Jay was associated with them shortly after the 
peace, in the capacity of secretary to the congress for foreign affairs. 
The incompetency of the articles of confederation for the management of 
the affairs of the Union at home and abroad, was demonstrated to them by 
the painful and mortifying experience of every day. Washington, though 
in retirement, was brooding over the cruel injustice suffered by his asso- 
• Story's Commentaries. f Force's Calendar, 1830. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 583 

ciates in arms, the warriors of the revolution ; over the prostration of the 
pubUc credit and the faith of the nation, in the neglect to provide for the 
payment even of the interest upon the public debt ; over the disappointed 
hopes of the friends of freedom ; in the language of the address from Con- 
gress to the states, of the 18th of April, 1783 — "the pride and boast of 
America, that the rights for which she contended were the rights of human 
nature." 

At his residence of Mount Vernon, in March, 1785, the first idea was 
started of a revisal of the articles of confederation, by an organization of 
means differing from that of a compact between the state legislatures and 
their own delegates in Congress. A convention of delegates from the state 
legislatures, independent of the Congress itself, was the expedient which 
presented itself for effecting the purpose, and an augmentation of the pow- 
ers of Congress for the regulation of commerce, as the object for which 
this assembly was to be convened. In January, 1786, the proposal was 
made and adopted in the legislature of Virginia, and communicated to the 
other state legislatures. 

The convention was held at Annapolis, in September of that year. It 
was attended by delegates from only five of the central states, who, on 
comparing their restricted powers with the glaring and universally-ac- 
knowledged defects of the confederation, reported only a recommendation 
for the assemblage of another convention of delegates to meet at Philadel- 
phia in May, 1787, from all the states, and with enlarged powers. 

The constitution of the United States was the work of this convention. 
But in its construction, the convention immediately perceived that they 
must retrace their steps, and fall back from a league of friendship between 
sovereign states, to the constituent sovereignty of the people — from power 
to right — from the irresponsible despotism of state sovereignty, to the self- 
evident truths of the Declaration of Independence. From the day of that 
declaration, the constituent power of the people had never been called 
into action. A confederacy had been substituted in the place of a govern- 
ment, and state sovereignty had usurped the constituent sovereignty of the 
people. 

The convention assembled at Philadelphia had themselves no direct 
authority from the people. Their authority was all derived from the state 
legislatures. But they had the articles of confederation before them, and 
they saw and felt the wretched condition into which they had brought the 
whole people, and that the Union itself was in the agonies of death. They 
soon perceived that the indispensably-needed powers were such as no 
state government ; no combination of them was, by the principles of the 
Declaration of Independence, competent to bestow. They could emanate 
only from the people. A highly respectable portion of the assembly, still 
clinging to the confederacy of states, proposed, as a substitute for the con- 
stitution, a mere revival of the articles of confederation, with a grant of 



584 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN TTNION. 

f 

additional powers to the Congress. Their plan was respectfully and thor- 
oughly discussed ; but the want of a government, and of the sanction of 
the people to the delegation of powers, happily prevailed. A constitution 
for the people, and the distribution of legislative, executive, and judicial 
powers, was prepared. It announced itself as the work of the people 
themselves ; and as this was unquestionably a power assumed by the con- 
vention, not delegated to them by the people, they religiously confined it 
to a simple power to propose, and carefully provided that it should be no 
more than a proposal, until sanctioned by the confederation Congress, by 
the state legislatures, and by the people of the several states, in conven- 
tions specially assembled, by authority of their legislatures, for the single 
purpose of examining and passing upon it. 

And thus was consummated the work, commenced by the Declaration 
of Independence ; a work in which the people of the North American 
Union, acting under the deepest sense of responsibility to the Supreme 
Ruler of the universe, had achieved the most transcendent act of power 
that social man, in his mortal condition, can perform ; even that of dis- 
solving the ties of allegiance by which he is bound to his country — of re- 
nouncing that country itself — of demolishing its government, of instituting 
another government, and of making for himself another country in its 
stead. 

The revolution itself was a work of thirteen years — and had never been 
completed until that day (when Washington was inaugurated, on the 30th 
of April, 1789). The Declaration of Independence and the constitution 
of the United States, are parts of one consistent whole, founded upon one 
and the same theory of government, then new, not as a theory, for it had 
been working itself into the mind of man for many ages, and been espe- 
cially expounded in the writings of Locke, but had never before been 
adopted by a great nation in practice.* 



Proceedings of commissioners from certain states, assembled at Annapolis, 
in September, 1786, to consider on the best means of remedying the defects 
of the federal government. 

Annapolis, in the state of Maryland, September 11, 1786. — At a meeting 
of commissioners from the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, 
Delaware, and Virginia : present. New York: Alexander Hamilton, Eg- 
bert Benson ; New Jersey : Abraham Clark, William C. Houston, James 
Schureman ; Pennsylvania : Tench Coxe ; Delaviare : George Read, John 
Dickinson, Richard Basset ; Virginia : Edmund Randolph, James Madi- 
son, jr.. Saint George Tucker. 

Mr. Dickinson was unanimously elected chairman. The commissioners 

produced their credentials from their respective states, which were read. 

After a full communication of sentiments, and deliberate consideration of 

what would be proper to be done by the commissioners now assembled 

• Adams's Jubilee Discourse. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 585 

it was unanimously agreed, that a committee be appointed to prepare a 
draught of a report to be made to the states having commissioners attend- 
ing at this meeting. Adjourned till Wednesday morning. 

Wednfsday, Sept. 13. — Met agreeable to adjournment. The committee 
appointed for that purpose reported the draught of the report, which being 
read, the meeting proceeded to the consideration thereof, and after some 
time spent therein, adjourned till to-morrow morning. 

Thursday, Sept. 14. — Met agreeable to adjournment. The meeting re- 
sumed the consideration of the draught of the report, and after some time 
spent therein, and amendments made, the same was unanimously agreed to, 
and is as follows, to wit : — 

To the honorable the legislatures of Virginia, Delaivare, Pennsylvania, Nem 
Jersey, and New York, the co7nmissioners from the said states, respec- 
tively, assembled at Annapolis, humbly beg leave to report : — 

That, pursuant to their several appointments, they met at Annapolis, in 
the state of Maryland, on the 11th day of September, instant, and having 
proceeded to a communication of their powers, they found that the states 
of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, had, in substance, and nearly 
in the same terms, authorized their respective commissioners " to meet 
such commissioners as were or might be appointed by the other states in 
the union, at such time and place as should be agreed upon by the said 
commissioners, to take into consideration the trade and commerce of 
the United States, to consider how far a uniform system in their commer- 
cial intercourse and regulations, might be necessary to their common in- 
terest and permanent harmony, and to report to the several states such an 
act relative to this great object, as, when unanimously ratified by them, 
would enable the United States, in Congress assembled, effectually to pro- 
vide for the same." 

That the state of Delaware had given similar powers to their commis- 
sioners, with this difference only, that the act to be framed in virtue of 
these powers, is required to be reported " to the United States, in Con- 
gress assembled, to be agreed to by them, and confirmed by the legisla- 
tures of every state." 

That the state of New Jersey had enlarged the object of their appoint- 
ment, empowering their commissioners " to consider how far a uniform 
system in their commercial regulations, and other important matters, might 
be necessary to the common interest and permanent harmony of the sev- 
eral states ;" and to report such an act on the subject, as, when ratified by 
them, " would enable the United States, in Congress assembled, effectually 
to provide for the exigencies of the Union." 

That appointments of commissioners have also been made by the states 
of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and North Carolina, 
none of whom, however, have attended ; but that no information has been 
received by your commissioners of any appointment having been made 
by the slates of Connecticut, Maryland, South Carolina, or Georgia. 

That the express terms of the powers to your commissioners supposing 
a deputation from all the states, and having for object the trade and com- 
merce of the United States, your commissioners did not conceive it advi- 
sable to proceed on the business of their mission under the circumstances 
of so partial and defective a representation. 

Deeply impressed, however, with the magnitude and importance of the 
object confided to them on this occasion, your commissioners can not for- 



586 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 

bear to indulge an expression of their earnest and unanimous wish, that 
speedy measures may be taken to effect a general meeting of the states, 
in a future convention, for the same and such other purposes as the situa- 
tion of public affairs may be found to require. 

If, in expressing this wish, or in intimating any other sentiment, your 
commissioners should seem to exceed the strict bounds of their appoint- 
ment, they entertain a full confidence, that a conduct dictated by an anxiety 
for the welfare of the United States, will not fail to receive an indulgent 
construction. 

In this persuasion, your commissioners submit an opinion, that the idea 
of extending the powers of their deputies to other objects than those of 
commerce, which has been adopted by the state of New Jersey, was an 
improvement on the original plan, and will deserve to be incorporated into 
that of a future convention. They are the more naturally led to this con- 
clusion, as, in the course of their reflections on the subject, they have 
been induced to think that the power of regulating trade is of such com- 
prehensive extent, and will enter so far into the general system of the fed- 
eral government, that to give it efficacy, and to obviate questions and 
doubts concerning its precise nature and limits, may require a correspon- 
dent adjustment of other parts of the federal system. 

That there are important defects in the system of the federal govern- 
ment, is acknowledged by the acts of all those states which have concur- 
red in the present meeting ; that the defects, upon a closer examination, 
may be found greater and more numerous than even these acts imply, is at 
least so far probable, from the embarrassments which characterize the 
present state of our national affairs, foreign and domestic, as may reason- 
ably be supposed to merit a deliberate and candid discussion, in some 
mode which will unite the sentiments and councils of all the states. In 
the choice of the mode, your commissioners are of opinion, that a con- 
vention of deputies from the different states, for the special and sole pur- 
pose of entering into this investigation, and digesting a plan for supplying 
such defects as may be discovered to exist, will be entitled to a prefer- 
ence, from considerations which will occur without being particularized. 

Your commissioners decline an enumeration of those national circum- 
stances on which their opinion respecting the propriety of a future con- 
vention, with more enlarged powers, is founded ; as it would be a useless 
intrusion of facts and observations, most of which have been frequently the 
subject of public discussion, and none of which can have escaped the 
penetration of those to whom they would, in this instance, be addressed. 
They are, however, of a nature so serious, as, in the view of your com- 
missioners, to render the situation of the United States delicate and criti- 
calj calling for an exertion of the united virtue and wisdom of all the 
members of the confederacy. 

Under this impression, your commissioners, with the most respectful 
deference, beg leave to suggest their unanimous conviction, that it may 
essentially tend to advance the interests of the Union, if the states, by 
whom they have been respectively delegated, would themselves concur, 
and use their endeavors to procure the concurrence of the other states, in 
the appointment of commissioners, to meet at Philadelphia on the second 
Monday in May next, to take into consideration the situation of the United 
States, to devise such further provisions as shall appear to them necessary 
to render the constitution of the federal government adequate to the exi- 
gencies of the Union ; and to report such an act for that purpose, to the 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 587 

,-x..>. .ites, in Congfress assembled, as, when agreed to by them, and 

afterward confirmed by the legislatures of every state, will effectually pro- 
vide for the same. 

Though your commissioners could not, with propriety, address these 
observations and sentiments to any but the states they have the honor to 
represent, they have nevertheless concluded, from motives of respect, to 
transmit copies of this report to the United States, in Congress assembled, 
and to the executives of the other states. 

By order of the commissioners. 
Dated at Annapolis, September 14th, 1786. 



In Congress, Wednesday, February 21, 1787. — The report of a grand 
committee, consisting of Messrs. Dane, Varnum, S. M. Mitchell, Smith, 
Cadwallader, Irvine, N. Mitchell, Forrest, Grayson, Blount, Bull, and 
Few, to whom was referred a letter of the 14th September, 1786, from 
J. Dickinson, written at the request of commissioners from the states 
of Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, as- 
sembled at the city of Annapolis, together with a copy of the report of the 
said commissioners to the legislatures of the states by whom they were 
appointed, being an order of the day, was called up, and which is con- 
tained in the following resolution, viz. : — • 

Congress having had under consideration the letter of John Dickinson, 
Esq., chairman of the commissioners who assembled at Annapolis, du- 
ring the last year ; also the proceedings of the said commissioners, and 
entirely coinciding with them, as to the inefficiency of the federal govern- 
inent, and the necessity of devising such further provisions as shall render 
the same adequate to the exigencies of the Union, do strongly recommend 
to the different legislatures to send, forward delegates, to meet the proposed 
convention, on the second Monday in May next, at the city of Phila- 
delphia. 

The delegates for the state of New York thereupon laid before Con- 
gress instructions which they had received from their constituents, and in 
pursuance of the said instructions, moved to postpone the further consider- 
ation of the report, in order to take up the following proposition, viz. : — 

" That it be recommended to the states composing the Union, that a con- 
vention of representatives from the said states respectively, be held at , 

on , for the purpose of revising the articles of confederation and per- 
petual union between the United States of America, and rejiorting to the 
United States, in Congress assembled, and to the states respectively, such 
alterations and amendments of the said articles of confederation, as the 
representatives, met in such convention, shall judge proper and necessary 
to render them adequate to the preservation and support of the Union." 

On the question to postpone, for the purpose abovementioned, the yeas 
and nays being required by the delegates for New York, the question was 
lost by the following vote, three states only voting in the affirmative. The 
names of the members who voted in the affirmative are in italic. 
Massachusetts: Messrs. King, Da7ie ; Connecticut: Messrs. Johnson, S. 
Mitchell ; New York, Messrs. S?nith, Benson ; New Jersey : Messrs, 
Cadwallader, Clark, Schureman ; P ennsyhania : Messrs. Irvine, MerC' 
dith, Bingham; Delaware: Mr. N.Mitchell; Maryland: Mr. Forrest; 
Virginia : Messrs. Grayson, Madison ; North Carolina : Messrs. 
Blount, Hawkins ; South Carolina : Messrs. Bull, Kean, Huger, Par- 
ker ; Georgia : Messrs. Few, Pierce. 



588 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 

A motion was then made by the delegates for Massachusetts, to post- 
pone the further -consideration of the report, in order to take into con- 
sideration a motion which they read in their place ; this being agreed to, 
the motion of the delegates for Massachusetts was taken up, and being 
amended was agreed to, as follows : — 

" Whereas, there is provision in the articles of confederation and per- 
petual union, for making alterations therein, by the assent of a Congress 
of the United States, and of the legislatures of the several states ; and 
whereas, experience hath evinced that there are defects in the present 
confederation, as a mean to remedy which, several of the states, and par- 
ticularly the state of New York, by express instructions to their delegates 
in Congress, have suggested a convention for the purposes expressed in 
the following resolution ; and such convention appearing to be the most 
probable means of establishing, in these states, a firm national government: 

" Resolved, That, in the opinion of Congress, it is expedient that, on the 
second Monday in May next, a convention of delegates who shall have 
been appointed by the several states, be held at Philadelphia, for the sole 
and express purpose of revising the articles of confederation, and reporting 
to Congress, and the several legislatures, such alteration and provisions 
therein, as shall, when agreed to in Congress, and confirmed by the states, 
render the federal constitution adequate to the exigencies of the govern- 
ment, and the preservation of the Union." 

In compliance with the recommendation of Congress, delegates were 
chosen in the several states, for the purpose of revising the articles of con- 
federation, who assembled in Philadelphia, on the second Monday in May, 
1787. General Washington was chosen president of the convention. 
On the 17th of September, 1787, the convention having agreed upon the 
several articles of the federal constitution, it was adopted and signed by 
all the members present. 

On Friday, the 28ih of September, 1787, the Congress having received 
the report of the convention, with the constitution, recommended for rati- 
fication by the several states, and by Congress, adopted the following res- 
olution : — 

" Resolved, unanimously. That the said report, with the resolutions and 
letters accompanying the same, be transmitted to the several legislatures, 
in order to be submitted to a convention of delegates chosen in each state 
by the people thereof, in conformity to the resolves of the convention, 
made and provided in that case." 



The constitution having been ratified by the number of states required, 
the following proceedings took place in the old Congress, preparatory to 
organizing the new government. 

Saturdai/, September, 13, 1788. — On the question to agree to the follow- 
ing proposition, it was resolved in the affirmative, by the unanimous votes 
of nine states, viz., of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New 
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

" Whereas, the convention assembled in Philadelphia, pursuant to the 
resolution of Congress, of the 21st of February, 1787, did, on the 17th of 
September, in the same year, report to the United States, in Congress as- 
sembled, a constitution for the people of the United States ; whereupon, 
Congress, on the 28th of the same September, did resolve unanimously, 
' that the said report, with the resolutions and letter accompanying the 
same, be transmitted to the several legislatures, in order to be submitted to 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE AMERICAN UNION. 5S9 

a convention of delegates, chosen in each state by the people thereof, in 
conformity to the resolves of the convention, made and provided in that 
case ;' and whereas the constitution so reported by the convention, and by 
Congress transmitted to the several legislatures, has been ratified in the 
manner therein declared to be sufficient for the establishment of the same, 
and such ratifications, duly authenticated, have been received by Congress, 
and are filed in the office of the secretary, therefore — 

" Resolved, That the first Wednesday in January next be the day for 
appointing electors in the several states which before the said day shall 
have ratified the said constitution ; that the first Wednesday in February 
next be the day for the electors to assemble in their respective states, and 
vote for a president ; and that the first Wednesday in March next be the 
time, and the present seat of Congress [New York] the place, for com- 
mencing proceedings under the said constitution." 



Delegates to the Convention which met at Philadelphia, in May, 1787, to 
frame a new Constitution. 

New Hampshire, on the 27th of June, 1787, appointed John Langdon, John Pick- 
ering, Nicholas Gilman, and Benjamin West. 

Massachusetts, on the 9th of April, 1787, appointed Francis Dana, Elbridge Gerry, 
Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King, and Caleb Strong. 

Connecticut, on the second Thursday of May, 1786, appointed William Samuel 
Johnson, Roger Sherman, and Oliver Ellsworth. 

New York, on the 6th of March, 1787, appointed Robert Yates, John Lansing, jr., 
and Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey, on the 23d of November, 1780, appointed David Brearly, William 
Churchill Houston, William Paterson, and John Neilson ; and on the 8th of May, 
1787, added William Livingston and Abraham Clark; and on the 5th of June, 1787, 
added Jonathan Dayton. 

Pennsylvania, on the 30th of December, 1786, appointed Thomas Mifflin, Robert 
Morris, George Clymer, Jared Ingersoll, Thomas Fitzsimons, James Wilson, and 
Governeur Morris; and on the 28th of March, 1787, added Benjamin Franklin. 

Delaware, on the 3d of February, 1787, appointed George Read, Gunning Bedford, 
jr., John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, and Jacob Broom. 

Maryland, on the 26th of May, 1787, appointed James M'Henry, Daniel of St. 
Thomas Jenifer, Daniel Carroll, John Francis Mercer, and Luther Martin. 

Virginia, on the 16th of October, 1786, appointed George Washington, Patrick 
Henry, Edmund Randolph, John Blair, James Madison, jr., George Mason, and 
George Wythe. Patrick Henry having declined his appointment as deputy, James 
M'ClurE; was nominated to supply his place. 

North Carolina, in January, 1787, elected Richard Caswell, Alexander Martin, 
William Richardson Davie, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Willie Jones. Richard Cas- 
well having resigned, William Blount was appointed a deputy in his place. Willie 
Jones having also declined his appointment, was supplied by Hugh Williamson. 

South Carolina, on the 8th of March, 1787, appointed John Rutledge, Charles 
Pinckney, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, and Pierce Butler. 

Georgia, on the 10th of February, 1787, appointed William Few, Abraham Bald- 
win, William Pierce, George Walton, William Houston, and Nathaniel Pendleton. 



Dates of the Ratification of the Constitution hy the Thirteen Old States, 

Delaware December. .,7, 1787 South Carolina. ...May 23, 1788 

Pennsylvania December. .12, 1787 New Hampshire June 21^ 1788 

New Jersey December.. 18, 1787 Virginia June 26, 1788 

Georgia January 2, 1788 New York July 26, 1788 

Connecticut January 9, 1788 North Carolina. . ..November 21, 1789 

Massachusetts February. . .6, 1788 Rhode Island, May 29, 1790 

Maryland AprU 28, 1788 



590 



C3VGRESS AT ALBANY, 1754. 



States since admitted into the 

Vermont March 4, 1791 

Kentucky June 1, 1792 

Tennessee June 1,1 796 

Ohio February. . 19, 1803 

Louisiana April 8, 1812 

Indiana December..ll, 1816 

Mississippi December. .10, 1817 

Illinois December.. ..3, 1818 



Union by acts of Congress. 

Alabama December 14, 1819 

Maine March .... 15, 1820 

Missouri August. ..10, 1821 

Arkansas June 14, 1836 

Michigan January . . 26, 1837 

Florida March 3, 1845 

Texas December.24, 1S45 

Iowa, 1846. Wisconsin, 1848 



CONGRESS AT ALBANY, 1754 
The day appointed for the meeting of the commissioners, at Albany, in 
the state of New York, was the 14th of June, 1754, but they did not as- 
semble until the 19th of June, when it was found that seven colonies were 
represented, viz : — 



New York. 
James Delancy, 
Joseph Murray, 
William Johnson, 
John Chambers, 
William Smith. 

Massachusetts. 

Samuel Welles, 
' John Chandler, 
Thomas Hutchinson. 
Oliver Partridge, 
John Worthington. 



Connecticut. 

William Pitkin> 
Roger Wolcott, 
Eiisha Williams. 

Rhode Island. 

Stephen Hopkins, 
Martin Howard. 

Pennsylvania. 

John Penn, 
Benjamin Franklin, 
Richard Peters, 
Isaac Norris. 



Maryland. 

Benjamin Tasker, 
Abraham Barnes. 



New Hampshire. 
Theodore Atkinson, 
Richard Wibird, 
Meshech Weare, 
Henry Sherburne. 

The whole number of commissioners appointed was twenty-five, who 
all attended, as above named. Virginia and New Jersey, though ex- 
pressly invited, did not attend. 

Having completed a treaty with the Indians, the commissioners took 
up the subject of a plan of union. A committee, consisting of one mem- 
ber from each colony, was appointed to draw a plan, viz. : Messrs. Hutch- 
inson of Massachusetts, Atkinson of New Hampshire, Pitkin of Con- 
necticut, Hopkins of Rhode Island, Smith of New York, Franklin of 
Pennsylvania, and Tasker of Maryland. 

Several plans were proposed, but an outline presented by Dr. Franklin, 
before he arrived in Albany, was preferred by the committee, and reported 
to the Congress on the 28th of June. The debates on the various topics 
embraced in the plan of union continued for twelve days, when the one 
reported, substantially as drawn by Doctor Franklin, was adopted ; and 
the Congress adjourned on the 11th of July. This scheme of general 
government received the assent of all the commissioners, except those 
from Connecticut. Indeed, Governor Hutchinson, in his history of Mas- 
sachusetts, says the vote was unanimous in the Congress ; but this is con- 
tradicted by the Connecticut historians. It was, however, to be of no 



CONGRESS AT NEW YORK, 1765. 591 

force unless confirmed by the several colonial assemblies — and not one of 
tliem, when the report was made by their delegates, inclined to part with 
so great a share of power as was to be given to this general government. 
The plan met with no better fate in England, where it was laid before the 
king and the board of trade. Doctor Franklin says : " The colonial as- 
semblies all thought there was too much prerogative in it, and in England 
it was thought to have too much of the democratic in it." Considering 
the rejection by the two parties, for opposite reasons, it was Franklin's 
opinion, thirty years afterward, that his plan was near the true medium. 
It is remarkable how nearly the basis approaches the constitution of the 
United States.* 



CONGRESS AT NEW YORK, 1765. 
The proposal for holding a congress of delegates from the respective 
colonies, in consequence of the passage of the stamp act and other op- 
pressive measures of the British parliament, was made by the correspond- 
ing committee of the New York assembly (appointed in October, 1764), 
and was repeatedly agitated in the different colonial legislatures. In June, 
1765, the popular branch of the legislature of Massachusetts issued a cir- 
cular letter proposing " a meeting of committees from the house of repre- 
sentatives or burgesses of the several British colonies on this continent, 
to consult together on the circumstances of the colonies, and the difficulties 
to which they are and must be reduced by the operation of the acts of 
parliament, for levying duties and taxes on the colonies ; and to consider 
of a general and united, dutiful, loyal, and humble representation of their 
condition to his majesty aud to the parliament, and to implore relief ; also, 
that such meeting be at the city of New York, on the first Tuesday of Oc- 
tober next." In consequence of the circular letter referred to, the fol- 
lowing gentlemen met at New York, on the 7th of October, 1765, viz. : — 
Massachusetts. New Jeksey. 

James Otis, go^f t Ogden 

Oliver Partridge, Hendnck Fisher, 

Timothy Ruggles. Joseph Borden. 

Pennsylvania. 
Rhode Island. j^^„ Dickinson, 

Metcalf Bowler, John Morton, 

Henry Ward. George Bryan, 

r^ ^ „XT.- Delaware. 

Connecticut. _, ,,,,^ 

Thomas M'Kean, 
Eliphalet Dyer, Cffisar Rodney. 

David Rowland, Tvr.„,rT ,»,,. 

William S. Johnson. ,..^ ™ ; , 

William Murdock, 
New York. Edward Tilghman, 

„ , ^ „ T • • * Thomas Ringgold. 

Robert R. Livingston, ^ 

John Cruger, South Carolina. 

Philip Livingston., - Thomas Lynch, 

William Bayard, Christopher Gadsden. 

Leonard Lispenard. John Rutledge. 

• See Pitkin's Tolitical History, and Franklin's Works. 



592 PRESIDEXTS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

New Hampshire, Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia, were not rep- 
resented ; but their assemblies wrote that they would agree to whatever 
was done by the Congress. 

Timothy Ruggles, of Massachusetts, was, by ballot, chosen chairman 
of the Congress, and John Cotton, clerk.* 

This Congress continued in session, from day to day, until the 24th of 
October, 1765, and their proceedings were approved by all of the dele- 
gates, except Mr. Ruggles, of Massachusetts, and Mr. Ogden, of New 
Jersey, both of whom left New York without signing the address or peti- 
tions. The proceedings of the Congress were afterward sanctioned by 
the various colonial assemblies. 



CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

Presidents of the Continental Congress, from 1774 to 1788. 

FROM ELECTED. 

Peyton Randolph Virginia September.. 5, 1774 

Henry Middleton South Carolina October. ..22, 1774 

Peyton Randolph Virginia May 10, 177.5 

John Hancock Massachusetts May 24, 1775 

Henry Laurens South Carolina .November.. 1, 1777 

John Jay New York December 10, 1778 

Samuel Huntington Connecticut September 28, 1779 

Thomas M'Kean Delaware July 10, 1781 

John Hanson Maryland November.. 5, 1781 

Elias Boudinot New Jersey November. .4, 1782 

Thomas Mifflin Pennsylvania November.. 3, 1783 

Richard Henry Lee Virginia November 30, 1784 

Natha-nicl Gorham Massachusetts June 6, 1786 

Arthur St. Clair Pennsylvania February. ..2, 1787 

Cyrus Griffin Virginia January.. 22, 1788 

Sessions of the Continental Congress. 

The sessions of the continental Congress were commenced as follows : 
September 5, 1774, also May 10, 1775, at Philadelphia ; December 20, 

1776, at Baltimore; March 4, 1777, at Philadelphia ; September 27, 

1777, at Lancaster, Penn. ; September 30, 1777, at York, Penn. ; July 
2, 1778, at Philadelphia ; June 30, 1783, at Princeton, New Jersey ; No- 
vember 26, 1783, at Annapolis, Maryland ; November 1, 1784, at Trenton, 
New Jersey ; January 11, 1785, at Neio York, which, from that time, 
continued to be the place of meeting till the adoption of the constitution 
of the United States. From 1781 to 1788, Congress met annually on the 
first Monday in November, pursuant to the articles of confederation. 

• Journal of the First American or Stamp- Act Congress, of 1765, published in Niles's 
Register, 1812, and by E. Winchester, New York, 1845. 



MEMBERS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS, 
FROM 1774 TO 1788. 



(Arranged from the Journals of Congress, for the American Almanac of 1834.) 



New Hampshire. 

From 

Bartlett, Josiah 1775, 

Blanchard, Jonathan 1783, 

( 1774, 
Folsom, Nathaniel < 1777, 

( 1779, 

Foster, Abiel 1783, 

Frost, George 1777, 

Oilman, John Taylor 1782, 

Oilman, Nicholas 1786, 

Langdon, John < ,-ro<-' 

Langdon, Woodbury 1779, 

Livermore, bamuel •< i~o- 

( i / oO, 

Long, Pierce 1784, 

Peabody, Nathaniel 1779, 

Sullivan, John < ,~on 

' ( 1 / 80, 

Thornton, Matthew 1776, 

Wentworth, John, jr 1778, 

Whipple, William 1776, 

White, Phillips 1782, 

Wingate, Paine 1787, 



Massachusetts 

Adams, John 

Adams, Samuel 

Gushing, Thomas 



Dana, Francis. 
Dane, Nathan. , 
Gerry, Elbridge 



Gorham, Nathaniel 

Hancock, John 

Higginson, Stephen, 

Holten, Samuel 



Jackson, Jonathan 

King, Rufus 

Lovell, James 

Lowell, John 

Osgood, Samuel. . . . 

Otis, Samuel A 

Paine, Robert Treat 



'85 
'79 
'83 

'88 
'77 
'87 
'80 
'83 
'86 
'86 
'80 
'75 
'81 
'78 
'79 
'79 

'80. 



Partridge, George < 




Frntn 

Sedgwick, Theodore < . .. . 1785, 

Sullivan, James 1782, 

Thacher, George 1787, 

Ward, Artemas 1780, 



Rhode Island 

Arnold, Jonathan 

Arnold, Peleg 

Collins, John , 

Cornell, Ezekiel 

Ellery, William 

Hazard, Jonathan 

Hopkins, Stephen 

Howell, David 

Manning, 



Marchant, Henry. . 

Miller, Nathan 

Mowry, . . . . 

Varnum, James M. 

Ward, Samuel 



,1782, 
1787, 
1778, 
1780, 
1776, 
1783, 
, 1787, 
1774, 
1778, 
1782, 
1785, 
1777, 
1783, 
1785, 
1781, 
1780, 
1786, 
1774, 



Connecticut. 

r 1777 
Adams, Andrew i i78l' 

Cook, Joseph P 1784^ 

Deane, Silas 1774, 

Dyer, Eliphalet | ]]Iq'^ 

Edwards, Pierpont 1787, 

Ellsworth, Oliver 1777, 

Hillhouse, William 1783, 

Hosmer, Titus j |^!^^' 

tr .• . -D • • S 1780,' 

Huntmgton, Benjamin.... < ,jo-r 

Huntington, Samuel 1776, 

Johnson, William S 1784, 

r 2777 
Law, Richard < nsi' 

C 1783^ 
Mitchell, Stephen M < 1785, 

( 1787, 

Root, Jesse 1778, 

Sherman, Roger 1774, 

Spencer, Joseph 1778, 

Strong, Jedediah 1782, 

Sturges, Jonathan 1785, 

Treadwell, John 1785, 



'82 
'88 
'81 



'84 
'88 
'83 
'83 
'80 
'85 
'88 
'77 

'85 
'86 
'80 
'84 
'86 
'81 
'82 
'87 
'76 



'80 

'82 

'88 

'76 

'79 

'83 

'88 

'84 

'86 

'73 

'79 

'84 

'88 

'84 

'87 

'78 

'84 

'04 

'06 

'88 

'83 

'84 

'79 

'84 

'87 

'86 



594 



MEMBERS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 



From 
Trumbull, Joseph 1774, 

Wadsworth, James \ 1785' 

Wadsworth, Jeremiah 1787, 

Williams, William > HBs' 

Wolcott, Oliver j ^yso' 

New York. 
Alsop, John 1774, 

Benson, Egbert < 1786' 

Boerum, Simon 1774, 

Clinton, George 1775, 

De Witt, Charles 1783, 

Duane, James 1774, 

Duer, William 1777, 

Floyd, William J {!J Jg' 

Gansevoort, Leonard 1787, 

Hamilton, Alexander < 1787' 

tj • T 1, S 1774^ 

Haring, John < jyg^ 

T T 1 S ^"^74^ 

Jay, John < ms, 

Lansing, John 1784, 

Lawrence, John 1785, 

Lewis, Francis 1777, 

Livingston, Philip 1774, 

Livingston, Robert R < 1779' 

Livingston, Walter 1784, 

Low, Isaac 1774, 

c 1779 
L'Hommedieu, Ezra < 1787* 

Morris, Gou verncur 1777, 

Morris, Lewis 1775, 

M'Dougall, Alexander j 1784* 

Paine, Ephraim 1784, 

Piatt, Zephaniah 1784, 

( 1775 
Schuyler, Philip < 1778' 

Scott, John Morin 1780, 

Smith, Melancthon 1785, 

Wisner, Henry 1774, 

Yates, Abraham, jr 1787, 

Yates, Peter W 1785, 

New Jersey. 
Beatty, John 1783, 

Boudinot, Elias < 1781' 

Burnett, W 178o', 

Cadwalladcr, Lambert 1784, 

Clark, Abraham j ^^g-,' 

Condict, Silas 178l' 

Cooper, John 1776, 

Crane, Stephen 1774, 

Davlon, Elias 1787, 

DeHart, John 1774, 



'76 

'85 
'88 
'77 
'77 
'85 
'84 
'78 
'77 
'83 
'88 
'83 
'88 
'75 
'88 
'77 
'79 
'88 
'87 
'79 
'78 
'77 
'81 
'85 
'75 
'83 
'88 
'80 
'77 
'82 
'85 
'85 
'86 
'75 
'81 
'83 
'88 
'76 
'88 
'87 



Dick, Samuel. 



Elmer, Jonathan. 



Fell, John 

Frelinghuysen, Frederick. 



Henderson, Thomas. 
Hopkinson, Francis. 
Hornblower, Josiah. 

Houston, William C. 



Kinsey, James 

Livingston, William.. 

Neilson, John 

Scheurman, J 

Scudder, Nathaniel. . . 
Sergeant, Jonathan D. 

Smith, Richard 

Stewart, 

Stockton, Richard.... 

Symmes, John C 

Witherspoon, John . . . . 



From 
1783 
1776 
1781 

1787 
1778 
1778 
1782 
1779 
1776 
1785 
1779 
1784 
1774 
1774 
1778 
.1786 
1777 
1776 
1774 
1784 
,1776 
1785 
1776 



Pennsylvania. 
Allen, Andrew 1775, 

Armstrong, John ) i''87' 

Atlee, Samuel 1778, 

Bayard, John. 1785, 

Biddle, Edward < 1778' 

Bingham, William 1787^ 

Clarkson, Matthew 1785, 

Clingan, William 1777, 

r^^ r^ ^ 1776, 

Clymer, George ^ j-^^q'^ 

Dickinson, John 1774, 

Fitzsimmons, Thomas 1782, 

Franklin, Benjamin 1775, 

Galloway, Joseph 1774, 

Gardner, Joseph 1784, 

Hand, 1784, 

Henry, William 1784, 

Humphreys, Charles 1774, 

Ingersoll, Jared 1780, 

Irwine, 1786, 

Jackson, David 1785, 

Matlack, Timothy 1780, 

M'Clene, James 1778, 

Meredith, 1787, 

( 1774 
Mifflin, Thomas < 1782' 

Morris, Charles 1783, 

Morris, Robert 1776, 

Montgomery, John 1780, 

Morton, John 1774, 

Muhlenber?, Frederick A 1778, 

Peters, Richard 1782, 

Pettit, Charles 1785, 

Read, 1787, 

Reed, Joseph 1777, 

Rliodes, Samuel 1774, 

Roberdeau, Daniel 1777, 



To 
'84 
'78 
'84 
'88 
'80 
'79 
'83 
'80 
'77 
'86 
'82 
'85 
'75 
■76 
'79 
'87 
'79 
'77 
'76 
'85 
'77 
'86 
'83 



'76 

'80 
'88 
'82 
'87 
'76 
'79 
'88 
'86 
'79 
'78 
'83 
'76 
'83 
'76 
'75 
'85 
'85 
'86 
'76 
'81 
'88 
'86 
'81 
'80 
'88 
'76 
'84 
'84 
'78 
'84 
'77 
'80 
'83 
'87 
'88 
'78 
'75 
'79 



MEMBERS OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 



595 



From 

Ross, George 1774, 

Rush, Benjamin 1776, 

Searle, James 1778, 

Shippen, William 1778, 

■Smith, James 1776, 

Smith, Jonathan B 1777, 

Smith, Thomas 1780, 

St. Clair, Arthur 1785, 

Taylor, George 1776, 

Willing, Thomas 1775, 

( 1775, 
Wilson, James < 1782, 

( 1785, 
Wynkoop, Henry, 1779, 

Delaware. 

Bedford, Gunning > 1786' 

Bedford, Gunning, jr 1785, 

Dickinson, John > 1 77q' 

Dickinson, Philemon 1782, 

Evans, John 1776, 

Kearney, Dyre 1786, 

M'Comb, Eleazer, 1782, 

Mitchell, Nathaniel 1786, 

M'Kean, Thomas \ |!j!^g' 

Pattern, John 1785, 

Peery, William 1785, 

Read, George 1774, 

( 1774, 
Rodney, Caesar / 1777, 

( 1783, 

Rodney, Thomas j j^g^' 

Sykes, James 1777, 

Tilton, James 1783, 

Van Dyke, Nicholas 1777, 

Vining, John 1784, 

Wharton, Samuel 1782, 

Maryland. 

Alexander, Robert 1775, 

Carmichael, William ... 1778, 

Carroll, Charles 1776, 

Carroll, Daniel 1780, 

Chase, Jeremiah T 1783, 

Chase, Samuel < ijra' 

Contee, Benjamin 1787, 

Forbes, James 1778, 

Forrest, Uriah 1786, 

Goldsborough, Robert 1774, 

H^"'J°^" \ml: 

Hanson, John 1781, 

Harrison, William 1785, 

Hemsley, William , . 1782, 

Henry, John < j,j,g^' 

Hindman, William 1784' 

Howard, John E 1787, 



'78 
'82 
'87 
'77 
'76 
'78 
'83 
'87 
'83 



'85 
'87 
'86 
'77 
'80 
'83 
'77 
'88 
'84 
'88 
'76 
'83 
'86 
'86 
'77 
'76 
'78 
'84 
'83 
'87 
'78 
'85 
'82 
'86 
'83 



From 

Jenifer, D., of St. Thomas 1778, 

Johnson, Thomas 1775, 

Lee, Thomas Sim 1783, 

Lloyd, Edward 1783, 

Martin, Luther 1784, 

M'Henry, James 1783, 

Paca, William 1774, 

Plater, George 1778, 

Potts, Richard 1781, 

Ramsay, Nathaniel. 1785, 

Ridgely, Richard 1785, 

Rogers, John 1775, 

Ross, David 1786, 

Rumsey, Benjamin 1776, 

Scott, Gustavus 1784, 

Seney, Joshua 1787, 

Smith, William 1777, 

Stone, Thomas j ^Ti^> 

Tilghman, Matthew 1774,' 

Wright, Turbett 1781, 

Virginia 

Adams, Thomas 1778, 

Banister, John 1778, 

Bland, Richard 1774, 

Bland, Theodorick 1780, 

Braxton, Carter 1776, 

Brown, John ,, 1787, 

Carrington, Edward 1785, 

Fitzhugh, i779j 

Fleming, William 1779, 

Grayson, William 1784, 

Griffin, Cyrus 5 jj^8. 

Hardy, Samuel 1783* 

Harrison, Benjamin 1774, 

Harvie, John 1778, 

Henry, James 1780, 

Henry, Patrick 1774, 

Jefferson, Thomas j j J^^' 

( 1777 
Jones, Joseph ? , ' ' ' ' 

^ i/ou, 

Lee, Arthur 1781, 

Lee, Francis Lightfoot 1775, 

Lee, Hsnry 1785, 

Lee, Richard Henry j J^J^' 

Madison, James, jr J ]~rf:' 

Mercer, James 1779, 

Mercer, John F 1782, 

Monroe, James 1783, 

Nelson, Thomas ^ ^Llg' 

Page, Mann 1777^ 

Pendleton, Edmund 1774, 

Randolph, Edmund 1779, 

Randolph, Peyton 1774, 

Smith, Merewether 1778, 

Washington, George 1774, 

Wythe, George 1775, 



To 

'82 
'77 

'84 
'84 
'85 
'86 
'79 
'81 
'82 
'87 
'86 
'76 
'87 
'78 
'85 
'88 
'78 
'79 
'85 
'77 
'82 



'80 
'79 

'76 

'83 

'76 

'88 

'86 

'80 

'81 

'87 

'81 

'88 

'85 

'78 

'73 

'81 

'76 

'77 

'85 

'78 

'83 

'84 

'80 

'88 

'80 

'87 

'83 

'88 

'80 

'85 

'86 

'77 

'80 

'77 

'75 

'82 

'75 

'82 

'75 

'77 



596 



MEMBERS or THE CONTINENTAL COTN'GRESS. 



North Carolina. 

From 

Ashe, John B 1787, 

Bloodworth, Timothy 1786, 

<, 1782, 
Blount, William < j^j^g 

Burke, Thomas 1777, 

Burton, Robert 1787, 

Caswell, Richard 1774, 

Cumming, William 1784, 

Harnett, Cornelius 1777, 

' . . S 1781, 

Hawkins, Benjamin ^ j^gg^ 

s 1774' 

Hewes, Joseph i j^TQ 

Hill, Whitmill 1778' 

Hooper, William 1774, 

Johnston, Samuel 1780, 

Jones, Allen. 1779, 

Jones, Willie 1780, 

Nash, Abner ^ j^gg^ 

Penn, John < jy77 

Sitgreaves, John > . . 1784, 

Sharpe, William 1779, 

Spaight, Richard D 1783, 

Swan, John 1787, 

Williams, John 1778, 

TT T. S 1782, 

Williamson, Hugh > 1787 

White, Alexander 1786, 

South Carolina. 

Bee, Thomas 1780, 

Beresford, Richard 1783, 

Bull, John 1784, 

Butler, Pierce > 1787, 

Drayton, William Henry 1778, 

Eveleigh, Nicholas 1781, 

Gadsden, Christopher 1774, 

Gervais, John L 1782, 

Hey ward, Thomas, jr 1776, 

Huger, Daniel 1786, 

Hutson, Richard 1778, 

Izard, Ralph 1782, 

Kean, John 1785, 



'87 
'83 
'87 
'81 
'88 
'76 
'84 
'80 
'84 
'87 
'77 
'80 
'81 
'77 
'82 
'80 
'81 
'84 
'86 
'76 
'80 
'85 
'82 
'85 
'88 
'79 
'85 



Kinloch, Francis. . 
Laurens, Henry. . . 
Lynch, Thomas. . . . 
Lynch, Thomas, jr, 
Matthews, John. . . 

Middleton, Arthur. 

Middleton, Henry. 
Motte, Isaac. . . . . . 

Parker, John 

Pinckney, Charles. 



Ramsay, David .... 

Read, Jacob 

Rutledge, Edward. . 

Rutledge, John.... 

Trapier, Paul 

Tucker, Thomas T. 



Georgia. 

Baldwin, Abraham 

Brownson, Nathan 

Bullock, Archibald 

Clay, Joseph 



Few, William 

Gibbons, William 

Gwinnett, Button 

Habersham, John 

Hall, Lyman 

Houston, John 

Houston, William 

Howley, Richard 

Jones, Noble Wimberly < 

Lang worthy, Edward 

Pierce, W 

Telfair, Edward j 



Walton, George. 

Wood, Joseph . . . 
Zubly, John J.. 



From 


To 


1780, 


'81 


1777, 


'80 


1774, 


'76 


1776, 


'77 


1778, 


'82 


1776, 


'78 


1781, 


'83 


1774, 


'76 


1780, 


'82 


1786, 


'88 


1777, 


'78 


1784, 


'87 


1782, 


'84 


1785, 


'86 


1783, 


'85 


1774, 


'77 


1774, 


'77 


1782, 


'83 


1777 


'78 


1787, 


'88 


1785 


'88 


1776 


'78 


1775 


'76 


1778 


'80 


1780 


'82 


1785 


'88 


1784 


'86 


1776 


'77 


1785 


'86 


1775 


'79 


1775 


'77 


1784 


'87 


1780 


'81 


1775 


'76 


1781 


'83 


1777 


'79 


1786 


'87 


1777 


'79 


1780 


'83 


1776 


'79 


1780 


'81- 


1777 


'79 


1775 


'76 



SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, 



IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, JULY 4, 1776. 

The following list of members of the continental Congress, who signed the Declara- 
tion of Independence (although the names are included in the general list of that 
Congress, from 1774 to 1788), is given separately, for the purpose of showing the 
places and dates of their birth, and the time of their respective deaths, for con- 
venient reference. 







DELEGATED 




NAMES OF THE SIGNERS. 


BORN AT 


FROM 


DIED 


Adams, John 


Braintree, Mass., 19 Oct. 1735 


Massachusetts, 


4 July, 1826 


Adams, Samuel . 


Boston, " 27 Sep. 1722 


Massachusetts, 


2 Oct., 1803 


Bartlett, Josiah . 


Amesbury, " in Nov. 1729 


New Hampshire, 


19 May, 1795 


Braxton, Carter . 


Newington, Va., 10 Sep. 1736 


Virginia, 


10 Oct., 1797 


Carroll, Cha's, of Car'lton 


Annapoli-s, Md., 20 Sep. 1737 


Maryland, 


14 Nov., 1832 


Chase, Samuel . 


Somerset co., Md., 17 Apr. 1741 


Maryland, 


19 June, 1811 


Clark, Abraham 


Elizabetht'n, N. J. 15 Feb. 1726 


New Jersey, 


— Sept., 1794 


Clymer, George . 


Philadelphia, Penn., in 1739 


Pennsylvania. 


23 Jan., 1813 


Ellery, William . 


Newport, R. I., 22 Dec. 1727 


R. I. & Prov. PL, 


15 Feb., 1620 


Floyd, William . 


Suffolk CO., N. Y., 17 Dec. 1734 


New York, 


4 Aug., 1821 


Franklin, Benjamin . 


Boston, Mass., 17 Jan. 1706 


Pennsylvania, 


17 April, 1790 


Gerry, Elbridge . 


Marblehead, Mass., 17 Jul. 1744 


Massachusetts, 


23 Nov., 1814 


Gwinnet, Button . 


England, in 1732 


Georgia, 


27 May, 1777 


Hall, Lyman 
Hancock, John 


Onnn in 17T1 


Georgia, 
Massachusetts, 


Feb. 1790 


Braintree. Mass., in 1737 


8 Oct.,' 1793 


Harrison, Benjamin 


Berkely, Virginia, 


Virginia, 


— April, 1791 


Hart, John . 


Hopewell, N. J., about 1715 


New Jersey, 


, 1780 


Heyward, Thomas, jr. 


St. Luke's, S. C, in 1746 


South Carolina, 


— Mar., 1809 


Hevves, Joseph . 


Kingston, N. J., in 1730 


North Carolina, 


10 Nov., 1779 


Hooper, William 


Boston, Mass., 17 June, 1742 


North Carolina, 


— Oct., 1790 


Hopkins, Stephen 


Scituate, " 7 Mar. 1707 


R. I. & Prov. PI. 


13 July, 1785 


Hopkinson, Francis 


Philadelphia, Penn., in 1737 


New Jersey, 


9 May, 1790 


Huntington, Samuel . 


Windham, Conn., 3 July, 1732 


Connecticut, 


5 Jan., 179<) 


Jefferson, Thomas 


Shad well, Va., 13 Apr. 1743 


Virginia, 


4 July, 1826 


Lee, Francis Lightfoot 


Stratford, " 14 Oct. 1734 


Virginia, 


— April, 1797 


Lee, Richard Henry . 


Stratford, " 20 Jan. 1732 


Virginia, 


19 June, 1794 


Lewis, Francis . 


Landaff, Wales, in Mar. 1713 


New York, 


30 Dec, 1803 


Livingston, Philip 


Albany, N. Y., 15 Jan. 1716 


New York, 


12 June, 1778 


Lynch, Thomas, jr. 


St. George's, S. C, 5 Aug. 1749 


South Carolina, 


lost at sea 1779 


M'Kean, Thomas 


Chester co.. Pa., 19 Mar., 1734 


Delaware, 


24 June, 1817 


Middleton, Arthur 


Middleton Place, S. C, in 1743 


South Carolina, 


1 Jan., 1787 


Morris, Lewis 


Morrisania, N. Y., in 1726 


New York, 


22 Jan., 1798 


Morris, Robert 


Lancashire, Eng., Jan. 1733-4 


Pennsylvania, 


8 May, 1806 


Morton, John 


Ridley, Penn., in 1724 


Pennsylvania, 


— April, 1777 


Nelson, Thomas, jr. 


York, Virginia, 26 Dec. 1738 


Virginia, 


4 Jan., 1789 


Paca, William 


W^ye-Hill, Md., 31 Oct. 1740 


Maryland, 


, 1799 


Paine, Robert Treat . 


Boston, Mass., in 1731 


Massachusetts, 


11 May, 1804 


Penn, John 


Caroline co., Va., 17 May, 1741 


North Carolina, 


26 Oct., 1809 


Read, George 


Cecil CO., Md., in 1734 


Delaware, 


, 1798 


Rodney, Cassar . 


Dover, Delaware, in 1730 


Delaware, 


, 1783 


Ross, George 


New Castle, Del., in 1730 


Pennsylvania, 


— July, 1779 


Rush, Benjamin, M. D. 


Byberry, Penn., 24 Dec. 1745 


Pennsylvania, 


19 April, 1813 


Rutledge, Edward 


Charleston, S. C, in Nov. 1749 


South Carolina, 


23 Jan., 1800 


Sherman, Roger . 


Newton, Mass., 19 Apr. 1721 


Connecticut, 


23 July, 1793 


Smith, James 




Pennsylvania, 


11 July, 1806 




Stockton, Richard 


Princeton, N. J., 1 Oct. 1730 


New Jersey, 


28 Feb., 1781 


Stone, Thomas . 


Charles co., Md., in 1742 


Maryland, 


5 Oct., 1787 


Taylor, George . 


TmliTifl in 17Tfi 


Pennsylvania, 


23 Feb., 1781 




Thornton, Matthew . 


11 ;., i-yi A 


New Hampshire, 


24 June, 1803 




Walton, George . 


Frederick co., Va., in 1740 


Georgia, 


2 Feb., 1804 


Whipple, William 


Kittery, Maine, in 1730 


New Hampshire, 


28 Nov., 1785 


Williams, William 


Lebanon, Conn., 8 Apr. 1731 


Connecticut, 


2 Aug. 1811 


W ilson, James . 


Scotland, about 1742 


Pennsylvania, 


28 Aug., 1798 


Witlierspoon, John 


Yester, Scotland, 5 Feb. 1722 


New Jersey, 


15 Nov., 1794 


Wolcott, Oliver . 


Windsor, Conn.. 26 Nov. 1726 


Connecticut, 


1 Dec, 1797 


Wythe, George . 


Elizabeth city co., Va., 1726 


Virginia, 


8 June, 1806 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS, 

From the commencement of the Government under the Constitution, to the 
end of the Tv>e?ity-ninth Congress, March 3d, 1847, with the beginning 
and termination of their respective periods. [Corrected from the Treas- 
urer's Accounts.] 

We are indebted to the American Almanac for 1844 for such part of the following list 
as extends from the first Congress, in 1789, to the end of the twenty-seventh Congress^ 
March 3d, 1843 ; and have availed ourselves of the permission of the proprietors of that 
useful work, to copy the same, with corrections and additions for the twenty-eighth and 
twenty-ninth Congresses. 



Maine.— 1820. 

Senators. 

From To 

Chandler, John 1 820, '29 

Dana, Judah 1836, '37 

Evans, George 1841, '47 

Fairfield, John 1843, '51 

c igoQ '27 

Holmes, John ^ ^^28,' '33 

Parris, Albion K 1827, '28 

Ruggles, John 1835, '41 

Sprague, Peleg 1829, '35 

Shepley, Ether 1833, '36 

Williams, Reuel 1837, '43 

Representatives. 

Allen, Elisha H 1841, '43 

Anderson, Hugh J 1837, '41 

Anderson John 1825, '33 

Bailey, Jeremiah 1835, '37 

Bates, James 183 1, '33 

Bronson, David 1841, '43 

Burleigh, William 1823, '27 

Butman, Samuel 1827, '3 1 

Carey, Shepard 1843, '45 

Carter, Timothy J 1837, '38 

Cilley, Jonathan 1837, '38 

Clifford, Nathan 1839, '43 

Cushman Joshua P 1821, '25 

Dane, Joseph 1821, '23 

Davee, Thomas 1837, '41 

Dunlap, Robert P 1 843, '47 

Evans, George 182S, '41 

Fairfield, John 1835, '39 

Fessenden William P 1841, '43 

Hall, Joseph 1833, '37 

Hamlin, Hannibal 1843, '47 

Harris, Mark 1822, '23 

Herrick, Ebenezer 1821, '27 

Herrick, Joshua 1843, '45 

Hill, Mark L 1821, '23 

Holland, Cornelius 1831, '33 

Jarvis, Leonard 1831, '37 



From 

Kavanagh, Edward 1 83 1 

Kidder, David 1 823 

Lincoln, Enoch 1821 

Littlefield, Nathaniel S 1841 

Longfellow S i823 

Lowell, Joshua A 1839 

Marshall, Alfred 1841 

Mason, Moses 1834 

M'Crate, John D 1845 

M'Intire, Rufus 1826. 

Morse, Freeman H 1843 

Noyes, Joseph C 1837 

O'Brien, Jeremiah 1823 

Parks, Gorham 1833 

Parris, Virgil D 1838 

Randall, Benjamin 1839 

Ripley, James W 1827! 

Robinson, Edward 1838! 

Sawtelle, Cullen 1845^ 

Scammon, John F 1845, 

Severance, Luther 1843 

Smith, Albert 1839 

Smith, F. O, J .1833 

Sprague, P 1825! 

White, Benjamin 1843 

Whitman, E 1821 

Williams, Hezekiah 1845 

Williamson, W. D 1821 

Wingale, J. F 1827 



To 

'35 
'27 
'26 
'43 
'25 
'43 
'43 
'37 
'47 
'35 
'45 
'39 
'29 
'37 
'41 
'43 
'31 
'39 
'47 
'47 
'47 
'41 
'39 
'29 
'45 
'22 
'47 
'23 
'31 



New Habipshire. 
Senators. 

Atherton, Charles G 1843, '49 

Bell, Samuel 1823, '35 

Cutts, Charles 1810, '13 

Gilman, Nicholas 1805, '14 

Hill, Isaac 1831, '36 

Hubbard, Henry 1835, '41 

Langdon, John 1789, 1801 

Livermore, S 1793, 1801 

Mason, Jeremiah 1813, '17 

Jenness, Banning W 1845, '46 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



599 



Morrill, David L. 
Olcott, Simeon.. . . 

Page, John 

Parker, Nahum... 
Parrott, John F. . 
Pierce, Franklin.. 
Plumer, William. . 
Sheafe, James. . . . 
Storer, Clement . . 
Thompson, T. W. 
Wilcox, Leonarl. 
Wingate, Paine.. 

Woodbury Levi. . 



Representatives. 

Atherton, Charles G 

Atherton, C. H 

Barker, David 

Bartlett, Ichabod 

Bartlett, Josiah 

Bean, BenningM 

Betton, Silas 

Blaisdell, Daniel 

Brodhead, John 

Brown, Titus 

Bufl'um, Joseph 

Burke, Edmund 

Burns, Robert 

Butler, Josiah 

Carlton, Peter 

Chamberlain, J. C 

Chandler, Thomas 

Cilley, Bradbury 

Clagett, Clifton 

Cushman, Samuel 

Dinsmoor, Samuel , 

Durell, Daniel M 

Eastman, Ira A 

Eastman, Nehemiah 

Ellis, Caleb , 

Farrington, James 

Foster, Abiel < 

Freeman, Jonathan 

Gardner, Francis 

Gilman, Nicholas 

Gordon, William 

Hale, Salma. 

Hale, William 



Hale, John P 

Hall, Obed 

Hammons, Joseph . . . 

Harper, John A 

Harper, Joseph M. . . 
Harvey, Jonathan. . . 
Harvey, Matthew. . • . 
Haven, Nathaniel A. 

Healy, Joseph 

Hough, David 

Hubbard, Henry 

Hunt, Samuel 



From 


To 


1817, 


'23 


1801 


'05 


1836 


'37 


1807 


'10 


1819 


'25 


1837 


'42 


1802 


'07 


1801 


'02 


1817 


'19 


1814 


'17 


1842 


'43 


1789 


'93 


1825 


'31 


1841; 


'45 


1837 


'43 


1815 


'17 


1827 


'29 


1823 


'29 


1811 


'13 


1833 


'37 


1803 


'07 


1809 


'11 


1829 


'33 


1825 


'29 


1819 


'21 


1839 


'45 


1833 


'37 


1817 


'23 


1807 


'09 


1809 


ni 


1829 


'33 


1813 


'17 


1803 


'05 


1817 


'21 


1835 


'39 


1811 


'13 


1807 


'09 


1839 


'43 


1825 


'27 


1805 


'07 


1837 


'39 


1789 


'91 


1795 


1803 


1797 


1801 


1807 


'09 


1789 


'97 


1797 


1800 


1817 


'19 


1809 


'11 


1813 


'17 


1843 


'45 


1811 


'13 


1829 


'33 


1811 


'13 


1831 


'35 


1825 


'31 


1821 


'25 


1809 


ni 


1825 


'29 


1803 


'07 


1829 


'35 


1802j 


'05 



From 
Johnson, James H 1845 

Livermore, Arthur \ jg.-,^ 

Livermore, S 1789 

Matson, Aaron 1821 

Moulton, Mace 1845 

Norris, Moses, jr 1843 

Parrott, John F 1817 

Pierce, Joseph 1 80 1 

Pierce, Franklin 1833 

Plumer, William, jr 1819 

Reding, John R. 1841 

Shaw, Tristam 1839 

Sheafe, James 1799 

Sherburne, J. S 1793 

Smith, Jedekiah K 1807 

Smith, Jeremiah 1791 

Smith, Samuel 1813 

Sprague, Peleg 1797 

Storer, Clement 1707 

Sullivan, George 1811 

Tenney, Samuel 1800 

Thompson, T. W 1805 

Upham, George B 1801 

Upham, Nathaniel 1817 

Vose, Roger 1813 

Webster, Daniel 1813 

Weeks, John W 1829 

Weeks, Joseph 1835 

Whipple, Thomas 1821 

¥/i]cox, Jeduthun I8l3 

Williams, Jared W 1837 

Wilson, James 1809 

Wingate, Paine 1793 

Vermont. — 1791. 
Senators. 
Bradley,S.R | J^^J; 

Chase,Dudley ) 182^' 

Chipman, Nathaniel 1797, 

Crafts, Samuel C 1842, 

Fisk, James 1817, 

Paine, Elijah 1795, 

Palmer, William A 1818, 

Phelps, Samuel S 1839, 

Prentiss, Samuel 1831, 

Robinson, Jonathan 1807, 

Robinson, Moses 1791, 

Seymour, Horatio 1821, 

Smith, Israel 1802, 

Swift, Benjamin 1833, 

Tichenor, I | {gj^ 

Upham, William. 1843, 

Representatives, 

Allen, Heman { 1827, 

( 1833, 

Bradley, William C \ jggs'. 

Buck, Daniel 1795^ 



To 

'47 
'21 
'25 
'93 
'25 
'47 
'47 
'19 
'02 
'37 
'25 
'45 
'43 
1801 
'97 
'09 
'97 
'15 
'99 
'09 
'13 
'07 
'07 
'03 
'23 
'17 
'17 
'33 
'39 
'29 
'17 
'41 
'11 
'95 



'95 
'13 
'17 
'31 

1802 
'43 
'18 

1801 
'25 
'51 
'42 
'15 
'96 
'33 
'07 
'39 
'97 
'21 
'49 



'19 
'28 
'39 
'15 
'27 
'97 



600 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



To 
'25 
'29 
'15 
'33 
'05 
'11 
'17 
'13 
'47 
'25 
'35 
'47 
'09 
'43 
'09 
'15 
'41 
'47 
'43 
'11 
'32 
'19 
'37 
'17 
'23 
'17 
'17 



From 

Buck,D. A. A \ jg27' 

Butler, Ezra 1 813* 

Cahoon, William 1829, 

Chamberlain, William < I8O9' 

Chipman, Daniel 1815, 

Chittenden, M 1803, 

Collamer, Jacob 1843, 

Crafts, Samuel C 1817, 

Deming, Benjamin F 1833, 

Dillingham, Paul, jr 1843, 

Elliot, James 1803, 

Everett, Horace 1 829, 

Fisk, James j }gJJ' 

Fletcher, Isaac 1837, 

Foot, Solomon 1843, 

Hall, Hiland , 1833, 

Hubbard, Jonathan H 1809, 

Hunt, Jonathan 1827, 

Hunter, William 1817, 

Janes, Henry F 1835, 

Jewett, Luther 1815, 

Keyes, Elias 1821, 

Langdon, C 1815, 

Lyon, Asa 1815, 

Lyon, Matthew 1797, 1801 

Mallary, Rollin C 1819, '31 

Marsh, Charles 1815, '17 

Marsh, George P 1843, '47 

( 1821, '23 
Mattocks, John < 1825, '25 

( 1841, '43 

M-^h'E^^- 11825; '27 

Merrill, Orsamus C 1817, '19 

Morris, Lewis R 1797, 1803 

Niles, Nathaniel 1791, '95 

Noyes, John 1815, 

Olin, Gideon 1803, 

Olin, Henry 1824, 

Rich, Charles j jgj^' 

Richards, Mark 1817, 

Shaw, Samuel 1808, 

Skinner, Richard 1813, 

Slade, William 1831, 

Smith, Israel \ ll^J' 

( JoUl, 

Smith, John 1839, 

Strong, William ^ j^JJ' 

Swift, Benjamin 1829^ 

Wales, George E 1825, 

White, Phineas 1821, 

Witherell, James 1807, 

Young, Augustus 1841, 



Massachusetts. 
Senators, 

Adams, John Q 1803, '08 

Ashmun, Eli P I8I6, '18 



From To 

Bates, Isaac C 1841, '45 

Cabot, George 1791, '96 

Choate, Rufus 1841, '45 

Dalton, Tristam 1789, '91 

^--^s,^<^^- llsl: 'sl 

Dexter, Samuel 1799, 1800 

Foster, D\vis;ht 1800, '03 

Goodhue, Benjamin 1796, 1800 

Gore, Cliristopher 1813, '16 

Ti , T ^ 1808, '13 

Lloyd, James j jg^o '26 

Mason, Jonathan 1800, '03 

Mellen, Prentiss I8I8, '20 

Mills, Elijah H 1820, '27 

Otis, Harrison G 1817, '22 

Pickering, Timothy , 1803, '1 1 

Sedgwick, Theodore 1796, '99 

Silsbee, Nathaniel 1826, '35 

Strong, Caleb 1789, '96 

Varnum, Joseph B 1811, '17 

Webster, Daniel ^ j^27, Hi 

Representatives, 

Abbott, Amos 1843, '47 

Adams, Benjamin I8I6, '21 

Adams, J. Q 1831, '47 

Allen, Joseph 1810, '11 

Allen, Samuel C 1817, '29 

Ames, Fisher 1789, '97 

Appleton, Nathan \ jg^^' '42 

Ashmun, George 1845, '47 

Bacon, Ezekiel 1807, '13 ' 

Bacon, John 1801, '03 

Bailey, John 1823, '31 

Baker, Osmyn 1840, '45 

Barker, Joseph 1805, '09 

Barstow, Gideon 1821, '23 

Bartlett, Bailey 1797, 1801 

Bates, Isaac C 1827, '36 

Baylies, Francis 1821, '27 

Baylies, William [f^^^ ?^ 

Baylies, William 1 833,' '35 

Bidwell, Barnabas 1805, '07 

Bigelow, Abijah 1810, '15 

Bigelow, Lewis 1821, '23 

Bishop, Phanuel 1799, 1807 

Borden N B 5 ^^^^' '^^ 

rioraen,iN. J3 ^ j^^^, '43 

Bourne, S 1791, '95 

Bradbury, George 1813, '17 

Bradbury, Theophilus 1795, '97 

Brigss, George N 1831, '43 

Brigham, Elijah 1811, '16 

Brown, Benjamin 1815, '17 

Bruce, Phineas 1803, '05 

Bullock, Stephen 1797, '99 

Burnell, Barker 1841, '43 

Calhoun, William B 1835, '-13 

Carr, Francis 1812, '13 

Carr, James 1815, '17 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



601 



From 

Chandler, John 1805, 

Choate, Rufus 1831 

Cobb, David 1793 

Coffin, Peleg 17!)3 

Conner, Samuel S 1815 

Cook. Orchard 1805 

Crowninshield, B. W 1823 

Crowninshield, Jacob 1803 

Gushing, Caleb 1835 

Cushman, JoshuaP 1819 

Cutler, Manasseh 1801 

Cutts, Richard 1801 

Dana, Samuel 1814 

Davis, John 1825 

Davis, Samuel 1813 

Deane, Josiah 1807 

Dearborn, Henry 1793 

Dearborn, H. A. S 183 1 

Dewey, Daniel 1813 

Dexter, Samuel 1793 

Dowse, Edward 1819 

Dwight, Henry W 1821 

Dwight, Thomas 1803 

E]y,^Villiam 1805 

Eustis, William < i's':>n 

Everett, Edward 1825 

Fletcher, Richard 1837 

Folger, Walter 1817 

Foster, Dwight 1793 

Freeman, Nathaniel 1795 

Fuller, Timothy 181? 

Gage, Josiah 1817 

Gannett, Barzillai 1809 

Gardner, Gideon 1809 

Gerry, Elbridge 1789 

Goodhue, Benjamin 1789 

C 1820! 

Gorham, Benjamin < 1827 

( 1833 
( 1805 



Green, I. L. 



1811 



Grennell, Georjje, jr 1829 

Grinnell, Joseph 1843 

Grout, Jonathan 1789 

Hastings, Seth 1801 

Hastinss, William S 1837 

Hill, Mark L 1819 

Hoar, Samuel 1835 

Hobart, Aaron 1826 

Hodges, James L 1827 

Holten, Samuel 1793 

Holmes, John 1817 

Hubbard, Levi 1813 

Hudson, Charles 1841 

Hulbert, John W 1814 

Isley, Daniel 1807 

Jackson, William 1834 

Kendall, Joseph 1819 

Kendall, J. G 1829 

King, Cyrus 1813 

Kins:, Daniel P 1843 

Kinsley, Martin 1819 

Larnedj Simeon 1804 



To 

'08 
'35 
'95 

'95 
'17 
'11 
'31 
'08 
'43 
'21 
'05 
'13 
'15 
'34 
'15 
'09 
'97 
'33 
'14 
'95 
'20 
'31 
'05 
'15 
'05 
'23 
'35 
'39 
'21 
'99 
'99 
'25 
'19 
'11 
'11 
'93 
'96 
'23 
'31 
'35 
'09 
'13 
'39 
'47 
'91 
'07 
'42 
'21 
'37 
'27 
'31 
'95 
'20 
'15 
'43 
'17 
'09 
'37 
'21 
'33 
'17 
'47 
'21 
'05 



From To 

Lathrop, Samuel 1819, '27 

Lawrence, Abbott J Jgj^ [f^ 

Lee, Silas 1799, 1801 

Leonard, George j ^^^J ,g- 

Lincoln, Levi 1799, 1801 

Lincoln, Levi 1834, '41 

Lincoln, Enoch 1818, '21 

Livermore, Edward S 1807, '11 

Locke, John 1823, '29 

Lyman, Samuel 1795, 1800 

Lyman, William 1793, '97 

Mason, Jonathan 1817, '20 

Mattoon, Ebenezer 1800, '03 

Mills, Elijah H 1815, '19 

Mitchell, Nahum 1803, '05 

Morton, Marcus 1817, '21 

TVT 1 T ■ u S 1805, '07 

Nelson, Jeremiah i iRi- >9q 

Orr, Benjamin ISh' '19 

Osgood, Gayton P 1833, '35 

Otis, Harrison G 1797, 1801 

D 1 T S 1813, '15 

Parker, James < 1819 '21 

Parker, Isaac 1797^ '99 

Parmenter, William 1 837, '45 

Parris, A. K 1815, '18 

Partridge, George 1789, '91 

Phillips, Stephen C 1835, '39 

Pickering, Timothy 1813, '17 

Pickman, Benjamin 1809, '1 1 

Quincy, Josiah 1805, '13 

Read, John 1795, 1801 

x> A r y. ^ 1813, '17 

Reed, John ( l82l] '41 

Reed, Nathan 1800^ '03 

Reed, William 1811, '15 

Rice, Thomas 1815, '19 

Richardson, J.., 1827, '31 

Richardson, W. M 1811, '14 

Rockwell, Julius W 1843, '47 

Ruggles, Nathaniel 1813, '19 

Russell, Jonathan 1821, '23 

Saltonstall, Leverett 1839, '43 

Sampson, Zabdiel 1817, '20 

Seaver, Ebenezer 1 803, '13 

c A ■ 1 rr < 1789, '96 

S^'^g^^'^^'T 1 1799; 1800 

Sewall, Samuel 1796, 1800 

Shaw, Henry 1817, '21 

Shepard, William 1797, 1803 

Sibley, Jonas 1823, '25 

Silsbee, Nathaniel 1817, '21 

Skinner, Thomson, jr | ^f^ ^^^ 

Smith, Josiah 1801, '03 

Stearns, Asahel 1815, '17 

Stedman, William 1803, '10 

.Story, Joseph 1808, '09 

Strong, Solomon 1815, '19 

Taggart, Samuel 1803, '17 

Tallman, Peleg 1811, '13 

Thacher, George 1789, ISOl 



602 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



From 

Thachcr, Samuel 1802, 

Turner, Charles 1809, 

Upham, Jabez 1807, 

Varnum, John 1825, 

Varnum, Joseph B 1795, 

Wadsworth, P 1793, 

Ward, Artemas 1791, 

Ward, Artemas 1813, 

Webster, Daniel 1823, 

Wheaton, Laban 1809, 

White, Leonard 1811, 

Whitman, h. < 1817 

Widsery, William 1811,' 

Williams, Henry 1839, 

Williams, Lemuel 1799, 

Wilson, John ) 1817' 

Winthrop, Robert C < 1845* 

Wood, Abiel 1813^ 

Rhode Island. 

Senators.— 1790. 

Bradford, William 1793, 

Burrill, James 1817, 

Champlin, C. G 1809, 

DeWolf, James 1821, 

Dixon, Nathan F 1839, 

Ellery, Christopher 1801, 

Fenner, James 1805, 

Foster, Theodore 1790, 

Francis, John Brown 1844, 

Greene, Ray 1797, 

Greene, Albert C 1845, 

Howell, Jeremiah B 1811, 

Howland, Benjamin 1804, 

Hunter, William 1811, 

Knight, Nehemiah R 1821, 

Majbone, Francis 1809, 

Matthewson, Elisha 1807, 

Potter, Samuel J 1803, 

Robins, Asher 1825, 

Simmons, J. F 1841, 

Sprague, William 1842, 

Stanton, Joseph 1790, 

Representatives. — 1790. 

Arnold, Lemuel H 1845, 

Boss, John L 1815, 

Bourne, Benjamin 1790, 

Brown, John 1799, 

Bnrsess, Tristarn 1 825, 

Champlin, C. G 1797, 

Cranston, Robert B 1837, 

Cranston, Henry Y 1843, 

Durfee, Job 1821, 

Eddy, Samuel 1819, 

Hazard, Nathaniel 1819, 

Jackson, Richard S 1808, 

Knight, Nehemiah 1803, 

Malbone, Francis 1793, 

Mason, James B 1815, 



To 
'05 
'13 
'10 
'31 
1811 
1807 
'95 
'17 
'27 
'17 
'13 
'11 
'21 
'13 
'45 
1805 
'15 
'19 
'43 
'47 
'15 



'97 
'21 
'11 
'25 
'42 
'05 
'07 

1803 
'45 

1801 
'51 
'17 
'09 
'21 
'41 
'09 
'11 
'04 
'39 
'47 
'44 
'93 



'47 
'19 
'96 

1801 
'35 

1801 
'43 
'47 
'25 
'25 
'21 
'15 
'08 
'97 
'19 



From 
Pearce, Dutee J < , q^^' 

( Jo<)4, 

Potter, Elisha R j | '^^^' 

Potter, Elisha R., jr 1843* 

Sprague, William, jr 1835, 

Stanton, Joseph 1801, 

Tillinghast, Joseph 1837, 

( 1797 
Tillinghast, Thomas > jg^J' 

Wilbur, Isaac 1807^ 

Connecticut. 



To 
'33 
'37 
'97 
'15 
'45 
'37 
'07 
'43 
'99 
'03 
'09 



Senators. 

Betts, Thaddeus 1839 

Boardman, Elijah 1821 

Daggett, David 1813 

Dana, Samuel W 1810, 

Edwards, H. W 1823 

Ellsworth, Oliver 1789 

Foot, Samuel A 1827 

Goodrich, C 1807 

Hillhouse, James 1796 

Huntington, Jabez W .... 1840, 

Johnson, William S 1789 

Lanman, James 1819 

Mitchell, S. M 1793 

Niles, John M \ ,040 

Sherman, Roger 179 1 

Smith, Nathan 1833 

Smith, Perry 1837 

Tomlinson, Gideon 183 1 

Tracy, Uriah 1796 

Trumbull, Jonathan 1795 

Willey, Calvin 1825 

Representatives. 

Allen, John 1797, 

Baldwin, John 1825, 

Baldwin, Simeon 1803, 

Barber, Noyes 1821, 

Boardman, William W 1841, 



'40 
'23 
'19 
'21 
'27 
'96 
'33 
'13 

1810 
'51 
'91 
'25 
'95 
'39 
'49 
'93 
'36 
'43 
'37 

1807 
'96 
'31 



'99 
'29 
'05 
'35 
'43 



Brace, Jonathan 1798, 1800 

Brockway, John H 1S39, '43 

Burrows, Enoch 1821, '23 

Catlin, George H 1843, '45 

Champion, Epaphroditus 1807, '17 

Coit, Joshua 1793, '98 

Dana, Samuel W 1796, 1810 

Davenport, James 1796, '98 

Davenport, John 1799, 1817 

Dixon, James 1845, '47 

Dwight, Theodore 1806, '07 

Edmond, V/illiam 1798, 1801 

Edwards, H. W 1819, '23 

Ellsworth, W. W 1829, '34 

( 1819, '21 
Foot, S. A \ 1823^ '25 

( 1833, '34 

Gilbert, Sylvester 1818, '19 

Goddard, Calvin 1801, '05 

Goodrich, C 1795, 1801 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



GO- 



From To 

Good.i^ .Clizur 1799, 1801 

Grjswold, Roger 1795, 1805 

Haley, Elisha 1835, '39 

Hillhouse, James 1791, '96 

Holmes, Uriel 1817, '18 

Holt, Onin 1837, '39 

Hubbard, Samuel D 1845, '47 

Hunlington, B 1789, '91 

Huntington, E J j^jj^' ,'Jl 

Huntinston, J. W 1829' '34 

Ingersoll, Ralph J 1825, '33 

Ingham, Samuel 1835, '39 

Judson, Andrew 1835, '36 

Larned, Amasa 1791, '95 

Law, Lyman 1811, '17 

Merwin, Orange 1825, '29 

Moseley, Jonathan 1805, '21 

Osborne, Thomas B 1839, '43 

Perkinsj Elias 1801, '03 

p^^'i'^'E Will: :io 

Phelps, Launcelot 1835, '39 

Pitkin, Timothy 1805, '19 

Plant, David 1827, '29 

Rockwell, John A 1845, '47 

Russ, John.., 1819, '23 

Seymour, Thomas H 1843, '45 

Simons, Samuel 1843, '45 

Sherman, Roger 1789, '91 

Sherwood, S. B I8l7, '19 

Smith, John C 1800, '06 

Smith, Nathaniel 1795, '99 

o •„ T ^ 1839, '43 

Smith, Truman ) 1845 '47 

Stephens, James 1819^ '21 

Sterling, Ansel 1821, '25 

Stoddard, Ebenezer 1821, '25 

Storrs, William L J Jggg' ,'^q 

Sturges, Jonathan 1789* '93 

Stursres, Lewis B 1805, '17. 

Stewart, John 1843, '45 

Swift, Zephaniah 1793, '97 

Talmadge, Benjamin 1801, '17 

Terrv, Nathaniel 1817, '19 

Tomiinson, G 1819, '27 

Toucey, Isaac 1835, '39 

Tracv, Uriah 1793, '96 

Trumbull, Jonathan 1789, '95 

Trumbull, Joseph 1839, '43 

Tweedy, Samuel 1 833, '35 

Wadsworth, Jeremiah 1789, '95 

Whitman, L 1823, '25 

Whittlesey, Thomas T 1 836, '39 

Wildman, Zalmon 1835, '36 

Williams, Thomas S 1817, '19 

Williams, Tliomas W 1839, '43 

Young, Ebenezer 1829, '35 

New York. 
Senalors, 

^— »'.j°^" W'^i: :ii 



Bailey, Theodorus 1803 

Burr, Aaron 1791 

Clinton, DeWitt 1802 

Dickinson, Daniel S 1844 

Dix, John A 1845 

Dudley, Charles E 1828 

Foster, Henry A 1844 

German, Obadiah 1809 

Hobart, John S 1797 

vr- T> r S 1789 

King, Rulus < .Q^., 

Lawrence, John 1796 

Marcy, William L 1 83 1 

Mitchell, Samuel L 1804 

Morris, Gou verneur 1 800 

North, William 1798 

Sanford, Nathan ^ , o.-.^ 

( lo25 

Schuyler, Philip 1789 

Smith, John 1804 

Tallmadge, Nathaniel P 1833 

Van Buren, Martin 1821 

Watson, John 1798 

Wright, Silas 1833 



Representatives. 

Adams, John 

Adams, Parmenio. 

Adgate, David ■ 

Allen, Judson 

Allen, Nathaniel 

Anderson, Joseph H 

Andrews, John T 

Angel, William G < 

Arnold, Benedict 

Ashley, Henry 

Avery, David < 

Babcock, Alfred , 

Babcock, William , 

Badger, Luther 

Bailey, Theodorus 

Baker, Caleb 

Barnard,D. D 

Barstow, Gamaliel H 

Barton, Samuel 

Beardsley, Samuel 

Beekman, Thomas 

Belden, George 

Benson, Egbert 

Benton, Charles S 

Bergen, John T 

Betts, Samuel R 

Bicknell, Bennet 

Bird, John 

Birdsall, James 

Birdsall, Samuel 

Birdseye, Victory 

Birdseye, Victory 

Blair, Barnard 

Blake, John .,.,'. 



,1833 
,1823 
1815 
1839 
1819 
1843 
1837 
1825 
1829 
1829 
1825 
1811 
1816 
1841 
1831 
1825 
1793 
1799 
1819 
1827 
1839 
1831 
1835 
1831 
1829 
1827 
1789 
1843 
1831 
1815 
1837 
1799 
1815 
1837 
1815 
1841 
1841 
1805 



T» 

'04 

'97 
^03 
'51 
'49 
'33 
'45 
'15 
'98 
'96 
'25 

1800 
'32 
'09 
'03 
'98 
'21 
'31 
'91' 
'13 
'44 
'28 

1800 
'44 



'35 
'27 
'17 
'41 
'21 
'47 
'39 
'27 
'33 
'31 
'27 
'15 
'17 
'43 
'33 
'27 
'97 

1803 
'21 
'29 
'45 
'33 
'37 
'36 
'31 
'29 
'93 
'47 
'33 
'17 
'39 

1801 
'17 
'39 
'17 
'43 
'43 
'09 



604 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Bleecker, Hermanus .... 

Bockee, Abraham 

Bodle, Charles 

Borland, Charles 

Borst, Peter J 

Bouck, Joseph 

Bovee, Matthias J 

Bowers, John M 

Bowne, Samuel S 

Boyd, Alexander 

Brewster, David P 

Broadhead, John C 

Bronson, Isaac H 

Brooks, David 

Brooks, Micah 

Brown, Anson 

Brown, John W 

Bruyn, Andrew D. W. . . 

Bunner, Rudolph 

Cady, Daniel 

Cady, John W 

Cambreleng, Churchill C 

Campbell, Samuel 

Campbell, William W. . . 

Carey, Jeremiah E 

Carpenter, Levi D 

Carroll, Charles H 

Case, Walter 

Chapin, G. H 

Chase, Samuel , 

Childs, Timothy 

Chittenden, Thomas C. . , 

Clark, Archibald S , 

Clark, Lot , 

Clark, Robert 

Clark, Samuel 

Clarke, John C 

Clarke, Staley N 

Clinton, George 

Clinton, James G 

Cochran, John 

Colden, Cadwallader D. 

Collin, John F 

Collins, Ela 

Collier, John A 

Comstock, Oliver C 

Conklin?, Alfred 

Cook, Bates 

Cook, Thomas B 

Cooper, William 

Cowles, H. B 

Craig, Hector 

Cramer, John 

Crocheron, Henry 

Crocheron, Jacob 

Cruger, Daniel 

Culver, Erastus D 



From 


To 


.1811 


, '13 


1829 


, '31 


1833 


, '37 


1833 


'35 


1821 


'23 


1829 


, '31 


1831 


'33 


1835 


'37 


1813 


'14 


1841 


, '43 


1813 


'15 


1839 


'43 


1831 


'33 


1837 


'39 


1837 


'39 


1797 


'99 


1815 


'17 


1839 


'40 


1833 


'37 


1837 


'39 


1827, 


'29 


1815 


'17 


1823 


'25 


1821, 


'39 


1821 


'23 


1845 


'47 


1843 


'45 


1843, 


'45 


1843 


'47 


1819 


'21 


1835 


'37 


1827, 


'29 


1829, 


'31 


1835, 


'39 


1841, 


'43 


1839, 


'43 


1816 


'17 


1823, 


'25 


1819, 


'21 


1833 


'35 


1827, 


'29 


1837, 


'43 


184] 


'^3 


1804 


'09 


1841 


'45 


1797 


'99 


1821 


'23 


1845 


'47 


1823 


'25 


1831 


'33 


1813 


'19 


1821, 


'23 


1831, 


'33 


1811 


'13 


1795 


'97 


1799 


1801 


1829 


'31 


1823 


'25 


1829 


'30 


1833 


'37 


1815 


'17 


1829 


'31 


1817 


'19 


1845 


'47 



From 

Curtis, Edward 1837, 

Cushman, John P. 1817, 

Dana, Amasa < isiq' 

Davis, Richard D 184 1' 

Day, Rowland < IS'^q' 

Dayan, Charles 183 1^ 

De Graff, John I \ 1837' 

Deitz, William 1825^ 

De Mott, John 1845, 

De Witt, Charles G 1829, 

De Witt, Jacob H 1819, 

Dickmson, J. D < , ^ny 

Dickson, John 1831, 

Doig, Andrew W 1839, 

Doneyelles, Peter 1813, 

C 183 1 
Doubleday, Ulysses F < 1835' 

Drake, John R IS07' 

Dwinell, Justin 1823, 

Eager, S. W 1830, 

Earll,Nehemiah H 1839, 

Earll, Jonas 1827, 

Eaton, Lewis 1823, 

Edwards, John 1837, 

Effner, Valentine 1835, 

Egbert, Joseph 1841, 

Eilicott, Benjamin I8l7, 

Ellis, Cheselden 1843, 

Ellsworth, Samuel S 1845, 

Elmendorf, Lucas 1797, 

Ely, John 1839, 

Emott, James 1809, 

Faber,' 1828, 

Farlin, Dudley 1835, 

Fay, John 1819, 

Ferris, Charles G 1841, 

Fillmore, Millard J {^3^' 

Finch, Isaac 1829, 

Fine, John 1839, 

Fish, Hamilton 1843, 

Fisher, George 1829, 

Fisk, Jonathan iisn' 

Fitch, Asa I8I1' 

Floyd, Charles A 1841, 

Floyd, John G 1839, 

Floyd, William 1789, 

Foote, Charles A 1823, 

Ford, William D 1819, 

Fosdick, Nicoll 1825, 

Foster, A. Lawrence 1841, 

Foster, Henry A 1837, 

Frost, Joel 1823, 

Fuller, Philo C 1833, 

Fuller, William K 1833, 

Gallup, Albert 1837, 

Gardinier, Barent 1807, 

Garney, Daniel G 1825, 

Garrow, Nathaniel 1827, 



To 
'41 
'19 
'41 
'45 
'45 
'25 
'35 
'33 
'29 
'39 
'27 
'47 
'31 
'21 
'23 
'31 
'35 
'43 
'15 
'33 
'37 
'19 
'25 
'31 
'41 
'31 
'25 
'43 
'37 
'43 
'19 
'45 
'47 
1803 
'41 
'13 
'29 
'37 
'21 
'43 
'35 
'43 
'31 
'41 
'45 
'30 
'11 
'15 
'13 
'43 
'43 
'91 
'25 
'21 
'27 
'43 
'39 
'25 
'37 
'37 
'39 
'11 
'30 
'29 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



605 



Gates, Selh M 

Gebhard, John 

Geddes, James 

Gilbert, Ezekiel 

Gillett, R. H 

Glen, Henry 

Goodyear, Charles 

Gold, Thomas R j 

Gordon, James 

Gordon, Samuel \ 

Granger, Francis < 

Grant, Abraham P 

Gray, Hiram 

Green, Byram 

Greig, John 

Grinnell, Moses H , 

Griswold, G ■ 

Gross, Ezra C ■ 

Grosvenor, T. P 

Grover, Martin 

Guyon, John 

Hackley, A 

Hall, George 

Hallock, John 

Halsey, Jehiel H 

Halsey, Nieoll 

Halsey, Silas 

Hammond, Jabez D 

Hand, Augustus C 

Hard, Gideon 

Harris, John 

Hasbrouck, Abraham 

Hasbrouck, A. B 

Hasbrouck, Josiah j 

Hathaway, S. G , 

Hathorne, John J 

Havens, J. N 

Hawkes, John 

Hawkins, Joseph 

Hayden, M 

Hazeltine, Abner ■ 

Herkimer, John 

Herrick, Richard P 

Hobbie, Selah R 

Hoffman, Martin 

Hoffman, Michael 

Hoffman, Ogden 

Hogan, William 

Hogeboom, J. L 

Holmes, Elias B 

Hopkins, S. M 

Hosmer, Hezekiah L 

Hough, William J 

Houck, Jacob, jr 

Howell, Edward 

Howell, N.W 

Hubbard, T.H 



From 


To 


1839 


, '43 


1821 


, '23 


1813 


'15 


1793 


'97 


1833 


, '37 


1793 


1801 


1845 


'47 


1809 


'13 


1815 


'17 


1791 


'95 


1841 


'43 


1845 


'47 


1835 


'37 


1839 


'43 


1837 


'39 


1837 


'39 


1843, 


'45 


1841 


'42 


1839, 


'41 


1803 


'05 


1819 


'21 


1813, 


'17 


1845 


'47 


1820 


'21 


1819 


'21 


1819 


'21 


1825, 


'29 


1829 


'31 


1833 


'35 


1805 


'07 


1815 


'17 


1839, 


'41 


1833 


'37 


1807 


'09 


1813 


'15 


1825 


'27 


1803, 


'05 


1817, 


'19 


1833, 


'35 


1789, 


'91 


1795, 


'97 


1795, 


'99 


1821 


'23 


1829, 


'31 


1823 


'27 


1833, 


'37 


1817 


'19 


1823 


'25 


1845 


'47 


1827 


'29 


1825 


'29 


1829, 


'33 


1837 


'41 


1831, 


'33 


1823, 


'25 


1845 


'47 


1813 


'15 


1797 


'99 


1845 


'47 


1841 


'43 


1833 


'35 


1813 


'15 


1817 


'19 


1821; 


'23 



From 

Hubbell, William S 1843 

Huguenin, Daniel 1825 

Hungerford, Orville 1843 

Hunt, Washington 1843 

Humphrey, Charles 1825 

Humphreys, Reuben 1807 

Hunt, Hiram P j i oon 

Huntington, Abel 1833 

Irvine, William 1814, 

Jackson, Thomas B 1837 

Jenkins, Lemuel 1 823 

Jenkins, Timothy 1845 

Jewett, I^reeborn G 1831 

Johnson, Charles 1839 

Johnson, Jerome 1825, 

Johnson, Noadiah 1833 

Jones, Nathaniel 1837 

Keese, Richard ', . . . .1827 

Kellogg, Charles 1825 

Kemble, Gouverneur 1837 

Kempshall, Thomas 1839 

Kent, Moss 1813 

King, John 1831 

King, Perkins 1829 

King, Preston 1843 

Kirkland, J 1821 

Kirkpatrick, W 1807 

Kirtland, D 1817 

Knickerbacker, Herman 1809 

Lansing, G. Y 1831 

Lawrence, C. W 1833 

Lawrence, John 1789 

Lawrence, Samuel 1823 

Lawrence, John W 1845 

Lawyer, Thomas 1817 

Lay, George W 1833 

Lee, Gideon 1836 

Lee, Joshua 1835 

Letferts, John 1813 

Lent, James W 1829 

Leonard; Stephen B < ,o'„q 

Leonard, Moses G 1 843 

Lewis, Abner. 1845 

Linn, Archibald L 1841 

Litchfield, Elisha 1821 

Litchfield, Elisha 1823 

Livingston, Edwd. 1795 

Livingston, H. W 1803 

Livingston, Robert L 1809 

Loomis, Arphaxad 1837 

Love, Thomas C 1835 

(, 1813 



Lovett, John. 



1815 



Lyman, J. S 1819 

Maclay, William B 1843 

Magee, John 1827 

Mallory, Meredith 1839 

Mann, Abijah, jr 1833 

Markell, Henry 1825 

Markell, Jacob 1813 

Martindale, H. C . . . . . 



5 1823 
> 1833 



To 
'45 
'27 
'47 
'47 
'27 
'09 
'37 
'43 
'37 
'19 
'41 
'25 
'47 
'33 
'41 
'29 
'35 
'41 
'29 
'27 
'41 
'41 
'17 
'33 
'31 
'47 
'23 
'09 
'19 
'11 
'37 
'34 
'93 
'25 
'47 
'19 
'37 
'37 
'37 
'15 
'33 
'37 
'41 
'45 
'47 
'43 
'23 
'25 
1802 
'07 
'12 
'39 
'37 
'14 
'17 
'21 
'47 
'31 
'41 
'37 
'29 
'15 
'31 
'35 



606 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



From 

Marvin, Dudley 1823, 

Marvin, Richard P 1837, 

Mason, William 1835, 

Masters, Josiah 1805, 

Mattliews, Vincent 1809, 

Maxwell, Thomas 1829, 

Maynard, John j jg^^ ' 

M'Carty, Richard 1821^ 

M'Clellan, Robert 5 184l' 

MX'ord, Andrew 1803^ 

M'Keon, John < isii' 

M'Manus, William 1825,' 

M'Vean, Charles 1833, 

Meigs, Henry 1819, 

Metealf, Arunah 1811, 

Miller, John 1825, 

Miller, M. S 1813, 

Miller, William S 1845, 

Mitchell, Charles F 1837, 

Mitchell, Henry 1833, 

Mitchill, Samuel L i JgJJ' 

Moffet, Hosea 1813*, 

Monroe, James 1839, 

Montanya, J. L. D 1839, 

Moore, Ely 1835, 

Morgan, Christopher 1839, 

Morgan, John J 1821, 

Morrell, Robert < lonq' 

Morris, Thomas 1801, 

Moseley, William A 1843, 

Mumford, Gurdon S 1805, 

Murphy, Henry C 1843, 

Nicholson, John 1809, 

Niven, Archibald C 1845, 

Noble, William H 1837, 

Norton, Ebenezer F 1829, 

0^^leY,T.J \\ll^l 

Ogden, David A 1817, 

Oliver, William M 1841, 

Page, Sherman 1833, 

Palen, Rufus 1839, 

Palmer, Beriah 1803, 

Palmer, John 1817, 

Palmer, John 1837, 

Parker, Amasa J » 1837, 

Partridge, Samuel 1841, 

Patterson, John 1803, 

Patterson, Walter. . . . = 1821, 

Patterson, William 1837, 

Patterson, Thomas J 1843, 

Paulding, William 181 1, 

Peck, Luther C 1837, 

Peek,H 1819, 

Pendleton, Edmund H 1831, 

Phelps, Oliver 1803, 

Phosnix, J. Philips 1843, 

Pierson, Jeremiah H 1821, 

PiersoHj Job 1831, 



To 

'29 

'41 

'37 

'09 

'11 

'31 

'29 

'43 

'23 

'39 

'43 

'05 

'37 

'43 

'27 

'35 

'21 

'13 

'27 

'15 

'47 

'41 

'35 

'04 

'13 

'17 

'41 

'41 

'39 

'43 

'25 

'21 

'31 

'03 

'47 

'11 

'45 

'11 

'47 

'39 

'31 

'15 

'29 

'19 

'43 

'37 

'41 

'05 

'19 

'39 

'39 

'43 

'05 

'23 

'39 

'45 

'13 

'41 

'21 

'33 

'05 

'45 

'23 

»35 



From 
Pitcher, Nathaniel j J^J^' 

Piatt, Jonas 1799', 

Pond, Benjamin 1811, 

Post, Jotham 1813, 

Porter, James 1817, 

Porter P B ^ ^^^^' 

Porter, Timothy H 1825, 

Powers, Gershom 1829, 

Pratt, Zadock j jg^j^' 

Prentiss, John H 1837, 

Purdy, Smith M 1843, 

Rathbun, George 1843, 

Reed, Edward C 1831, 

Reynolds, Joseph 1835, 

Richards, John 1823, 

Richmond, Jonathan 1819, 

Riggs, Lewis 1841, 

Riker, Samuel < iso?' 

Rochester, "William B 1821, 

Robinson, Orville 1843, 

Rogers, Edward 1839, 

Rogers, Charles 1843, 

Roosevelt, James 1 1841, 

ri803, 
I 1809, 

Root, Erastus { 1812, 

j 1815, 
(1831, 

Rose, Roberts > 1829 

Ross, Henry H 1825^ 

Rugsjles, Charles H 1821, 

Russell, David 1835, 

Russell, John 1805, 

Russell, Jeremiah 1843, 

Russell, Joseph 1845, 

Sage, Ebenezer < 1819 

Sailly, Peter I8O4' 

Sammons, Thomas < , gQg' 

Sands, Joshua > ] 8''5' 

Sandford, Jonah 1830, 

Sandford, John 1841, 

Savage, John < 1815, 

Schenck, Abraham H 1815, 

Schoonmaker, C. C 1791, 

Schureman, Martin G 1805, 

Schuy]er,J 1817, 

Scudder, Treadwell 1817, 

Seaman, Henry 1 1845, 

Selden, Dudley 1833, 

Seymour, William 1835, 

Seymour, David L 1843, 

Sharpe, Peter 1823, 

Sherwood, Samuel 1813, 

Shipherd, ZebulonR 1813, 

Sibley, Mark H 1837, 

Sickles, Nicholas 1835, 



To 

'23 
'33 
1801 
'13 
'15 
'19 

'13 
'16 

'27 

'31 

'39 

'45 

'41 

'45 

'47 

'33 

'37 

'25 

'21 

'43 

'05 

'09 

'23 

'45 

'41 

'45 

'43 

'05 

'11 

'13 

'17 

'33 

'27 

'31 

'27 

'23 

'41 

'09 

'45 

'47 

'15 

'20 

'07 

'07 

'13 

'04 

'27 

'31 

'43 

'19 

'17 

'93 

'07 

'19 

'19 

'47 

'35 

'37 

'45 

'25 

'15 

'15 

'39 

'37 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



607 



Silvester, Peter 

Smith, John 

Smith, William S 

Smith, Albert 

Soule, Nathan , 

Spencer, Ambrose 

Spencer, Elijah 

Spencer, James B , 

Spencer, John C 

Sterling, Micah 

Stetson, Lemuel 

Storrs, H. R ■ 

Stow, Silas 

Stower, John G 

Street, Randall S 

Strong, James 

Strong, Theron R 

Strong, Selah B 

Strong, Stephen 

Swart, Peter 

Talbot, Silas 

Tallmadge, James 

Taylor, J. W 

Taylor, William 

TenEyck,E 

Thomas, David 

Thompson, Joel 

Thompson, John 

Throop, Enos T 

Tibbets, George 

Titus, Obadiah 

Tomlinson, Thomas A. . . . 

Tompkins, Caleb 

Townsend, George 

Tracy, Albert H 

Tracy, Phineas L 

Tracy, Uri 

Treadwell, T 

Turrell, Joel 

Tyler, Asher 

Tyson, Jacob 

Vail, Henry 

Van Allen, James I 

Van Allen, John E 

Van Buren, John 

Van Cortlandt, Philip 

Van Cortlandt, Pierre 

Vanderpoel, Aaron 

Vanderveer, Abraham. ... 

Van Gaasbeck, Peter 

Van Hoiiton, Isaac 

Van Ness, John P 

Van Rensselaer H 

Van Rensselaer, J 

Van Rensselaer, KillianK. 
Van Rensselaei", Solomon. . 
Van Rensselaer, Stephen . • 

Van Wyck, William 

Verplanck, Daniel C 



I From 

Verplanck, Gulian C 1825 

Wagner, Peter J 1839 

W^alker, Benjamin 1801 

Walworth, Reuben H 1821 

( 1825 
Ward, Aaron < 1831 

( 1841 

Ward, Jonathan 1815 

Wardwell, Daniel 1831 

Watts, John 1793 

Wendover, Peter H 1815 

Westerloj Rensselaer 1817 

Whallon, Reuben 1833 

Wheaton, Horace 1843 

Wheeler, Grattan H 1831 

White, Bartow 1825 

White, Campbell P 1829 

White, Hugh 1845' 

Whittemore, Elisha 1825 

Whittlesey, F 1831 

Wickes, Eliphalet 1805 

Wilkin, James W 1815 

Wilkin, Samuel 1 1831 

C 1814 
Williams, Isaac < 1817 

( 1823 

Williams, John 1795 

Williams, Nathan 1805 

Willough'by, Westel 1816! 

Wilson, N 1808 

Winter, Elisha J 1813 

Wood, Fernando 1841 

Wood, John J 1827 

Wood, Silas 1819 

Wood, Bradford R 1 845! 

< 1821 



Woodcock, David. 



1827 



Woodruff, Thomas M 1845 

Woods, William 1823 

Wood worth, William W 1845 

Wright, Silas 1827 

Yates, John B 1815 

Young, John 1841 



To 
'33 
'41 
'03 
'23 
'29 
'37 
'43 
'17 
'37 
'95 
'21 
'19 
'35 
'47 
'33 
'27 
'35 
'47 
'27 
'35 
'07 
'19 
'33 
'15 
'19 
'25 
'99 
'07 
'17 
'09 
'15 
'43 
'29 
'29 
'47 
'23 
'29 
'47 
'25 
'47 
'29 
'17 
'43 



New Jersey. 
Senators. 

Bateman Ephraim 1826, '29 

Condit, John 1803, '17 

Davenport, Franklin 1798, '99 

Dayton, Jonathan 1799, 1805 

Dayton, William L 1842, '51 

Dickerson, Mahlon 1817, '33 

Dickerson, Philemon 1790, '93 

Elmer, Jonathan 1789, '91 

Frelinghuysen F 1793, '96 

Frelinghuysen, Theodore 1 829, '35 

Kjtchell, Aaron 1805, '09 

Lambert, John 1809, '15 

Miller, Jacob W 1841, '47 

M'llvaine, James 1823, '26 

Ogden, Aaron 1801, '03 

Patterson, William 1789, '90 

Rutherford, John 1791, '98 



608 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Schureman, James. 

Southard, Samuel L 

Stockton, R 

Wall, Garrett D 
Wilson, James J 




Representatives. 



Aycrigg, John B . • , 

Baker, Ezra 

Bateman, Ephraim. 

Beatty, John 

Bennett, Benjamin. 

Bines, Thomas. . . . 



Bloomfield, Joseph. 
Boudinot, Elias. . . . 



Boyd, Adam 

CaSwallader, Lambert. 

Cassady, George 

Clark, Abraham 

Condit, John 

Condit, Lewis 

Condit, Silas 



1837, 
1841, 
.1815, 
.1815, 
.1793, 
,1815, 
1814, 
1819, 
1817, 
1789, 
1803, 
1808, 
1789, 
1793, 
1821, 
,1791, 
1799, 1803 
1819, '20 



'39 
'43 
'17 
'23 
'95 
'19 
'15 
'20 
'21 
'95 
'05 
'13 
'91 
'95 
'27 
'94 



Cooper, Richard M. . 

Cooper, AV. R 

Cox, James 

Cox, William 

Darby, Ezra 

Davenport, Franklin. 
Dayton, Jonathan. . . , 

Dickerson, Philemon. 

Edsall, Joseph , 

Elmer, Ebenezer. . . . . 
Elmer, Lucius Q. C. 

Farlee, Isaac G 

Fowler, Samuel , 

Garrison, Daniel 

Halstead, William . . . . 

Hampton, James G... 

Helms, William 

Henderson, Thomas.. . 

Holcombe, G. E 

Hufiy, Jacob 

Hughes, Thomas H. . . 
Itnley, James H. . ., . . 
Kille, Joseph 

Kinsey, Charles 

Kirkpatrick, Littleton. 



From To i From 

1799, 1801 I Matlack, James J821, 

Maxwell, George C 1811, 

Maxwell, J. P. B \ ]^^J' 

( lo41, 

Morgan, James 181], 

Mott. James 1801, 

Newbold, Thomas 1807, 

Parker, James 1833, 

Pierson, Isaac 1827, 

Randolph, James F 1828, 

Randolph, Joseph F 1737, 

Runk, John 1845, 

Ryall, D. B 1839, 

Schenck, F. S 1833, 

C 1789, 
Schureman, James < 1797, 

( 1813, 
Shinn, William N 1833, 

Sinnickson, Thomas 1 1797' 

Sinnickson, Thomas 1828, 

Sloan, James 1803, 

Smith, Barnard 1819, 

Smith, Isaac 1795, 

Southard, Henry ) 1815' 

Southard, Isaac 183 1' 

Stockton, Richard 1813, 

Stratton, Charles C ) I84l' 

Swan, Samuel 1821, 

Sykes, Georsre 1843, 

Thompson, Hedge 1 827, 

Thompson, Mark 1795, 

Tucker, Ebenezer 1825, 

Vroom, Peter D 1839, 

Ward, Thomas 1813, 

Wright, Samuel G 1845, 

Wright, William 1843, 

5 1837, 
I 1841, 



1811, 
1821, 
1831, 
1829, 
,1839, 
,1809, 
1813, 
1806, 

1799, 1801 
1791, '99 



Kitchell, Aaron. 



Lambert, John. 
Lee, Thomas... 
Linn, James . . 
Linn, John. ... 



1833, 
1839, 
1845, 
1801, 
.1843, 
1843, 
,1833, 
1823, 
1837, 
1841, 
1845, 
1801, 
1795, 
1821, 
1809, 
1829, 

1797, 1801 
1839, '41 
1817, 
1820, 
1843, 
1791, 
1794, 

1799, 1801 
1805, '09 
1833, '37 
1799, 1801 



Yorke, Thomas Jones. 



To 

'25 

'13 

'39 

'43 

'13 

'05 

'13 

'37 

'31 

'33 

'43 

'47 

'41 

'37 

'91 

'99 

'15 

'37 

'91 

'99 

'29 

'09 

'21 

'97 

'11 

'21 

'33 

'15 

'39 

'43 

'31 

'47 

'28 

'99 

'29 

'41 

'17 

'46 

'47 

'39 

'43 



Pennsylvania. 
Senators. 

Barnard, Isaac D 1827, '31 

Binsrham, William 1795, 1801 

Buchanan, James 1835, '45 

Cameron, Simon 1845, '49 

Dallas, Georse M 1831, '33 

Findlay, William 1 821, '27 

Gallatin, Albert 1793, '94 

Gre??, Andrew 1807, '13 

Lacock, Abner 1813, '19 

Leib, Michael 1808, '14 

Losan, George 1801, '07 

Lowrie, Walter 1819, '25 

Maclay, Samuel 1803, '08 

Maclay, William 1789, '91 

Marks, William 1825, '31 

M'Kean, Samuel 1834, '39 

Morris, Robert 1789, '95 

Muhlenbcr?, Peter 1801, '01 

Roberts, Jonathan 1814, '21 

1817, '21 ! Ross, James 1794, 1803 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



609 



From To 

Stnrceon, Daniel 1840, '51 

Wilkins William 1831, '34 

Representatives. — 1790. 

Adams, William 1825, '29 

Allison, James 1823, '25 

Allison, Robert 183 1, '33 

Anderson, Isaac 1803, '07 

Anderson, Samuel 1 827, '29 

Anderson, William j j^J^' ,' j^ 

Anthony, J. B 1833' '37 

Armstron?, James 1793, '95 

Ash, Michael W 1835, '37 

Baldwin, Henry 1817, '22 

Banks, John 1831, '36 

n A T, A S 1795, '99 

Bard, David J ^3^3^ ,J5 

Barlow, Thomas 1827, '29 

Barnitz, Charles A 1833, '35 

Beatty, William 1837, '41 

Beaumont, Andrew 1833, '37 

Beeson, Henry W 1841, '43 

Biddle, Richard 1837, '41 

Bidlack, Benjamin A 1841, '45 

Binney, Horace 1833, '35 

Black, James 1843, '47 

Blanchard, James 1845, '47 

Boden, Andrew 1817, '21 

Boude, Thomas IfiOl, '03 

Breck, Samuel 1823, '25 

Brodhead, Richard, jr 1843, '47 

Brown, Charles 1841, '43 

Brown, Jeremiah 1841, '45 

Brown, John 1821, '25 

Brown, Robert ...1798, 1815 

Buchanan, Andrew 1835, '39 

Buchanan, James 1821, '31 

Bucker, John C 1831, '33 

Buffinijton, Joseph 1 843, '47 

BuTd, George 1831, '35 

Eurnside, Thomas 1815, '16 

Campboll, John H .'1845, '47 

Chambers, George 1833, '37 

Chapman, John 1797, '99 

Clark, M. S 1820, '21 

Clark, William 1833, '37 I 

Clay, Joseph 1803, '08 

Clymer, George 1789, '91 

Conrad, Frederick 1803, '07 

Conrad, John 1813, '15 , 

Cooper, James 1839, '43 

Coulter, Richard 1827, '35 

Crawford, Thomas H 1829, '33 

Crawford, William 1809, '17 

Crouch, Edward ....1813, '15 

Darlington, Edward 1833, '39 

Darlington, Isaac 1817, '19 

Darlington, William < 18 Ip' '23 

Darragh, Cornelius 1843, '47 

Davies, Edward 1837, '41 

Davis, John 1839, '41 

Davis, Roger 1811, '15 

39 



From To 

Dennison, George . 1819, '23 

Denny, Harmar....' 1829, '37 

Dewart, Lewis 1831, '33 

Dickey, John 1843, '45 

Dimock, Davis, jr 1841, '42 

Edwards, John 1839, '43 

Edwards, Samuel 1819, '27 

Ege, Geor-e 1796, '97 

Ellis, William C 1823, '25 

Erdman, Jacob 1845, '47 

Evans, Joshua 1829, '33 

Ewing, John H 1845, '47 

Farelly, Patrick 1821, '26 

Findlay, John 1822, '27 

Findlay, William 1791, '99 

Findley, William 1803, '17 

Fitzsimmons, Thomas 1789, '95 

Ford, James 1829, '33 

Fornance, .Toseph 1839, '43 

Forrest, Thomas ^ J^^^| '^^ 

Forward, Chauncey 1825', '31 

Forward, Walter 1822, '25 

Foster, Henry D 1843, '47 

Frey, Joseph 1827, '31 

Fry, Jacob, jr 1835, '39 

Fuller, Gcor?e 1843, '45 

Fullerton, David 1819, '20 

Galbraith,John ^839* '4^ 

Gallatin, Albert 1795' 1801 

Garven, William S 1845, '47 

Gerry, James 1839, '43 

Gilmore, John .-.1829, '33 

Glasgow, Hugh 1813, '17 

Green, Innis , .'...1827, '31 

Gresra:, Andrew 1791, 1807 

GritUn, Isaac 1813, '17 

Gross, Samuel 1819, '23 

Gustine, Amos 1841, '43 

Halm, John 1815, '17 

Hamilton, John 1805, '07 

Hammond, Robert H 1837, '41 

Hanna, John A 1797, 1805 

Harper, James 1833, '37 

Harris, Robert , 1823, '27 

Harrison, S. S 1833, '37 

Hartlev, Thomas 1789, 1800 

Hays, Samuel 1843, '45 

Heister, Daniel 1789, '96 

Heistcr, Daniel 1809, '1 1 

Heister, John 1807, '09 

Heistcr, Joseph | Is^s'/^'OQ 

Heister, William 183 !,' '37 

( 1801, '03 

Hemphill, Joseph ? 1819, '27 

( 1829, '31 

Henderson, Joseph 1833, '37 

Henderson, Samuel 1814, '15 

Henry, Thomas 1837, '43 

Hibshman, Jacob.... 1819, '21 

Hill, Thomas 1824, '26 

Hoge, John 1804, '05 



610 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Hoge, William < 

Hook, Enos 

Hopkinson, Joseph 

Horn, Henry 

Hosteler, Jacob 

Hubley, Edward B 

Humphreys, Jacob 

Hyneman, John M 

Ihrie, Peter 

Ingersoll, Charles J < 

Ingersoll, Joseph R < 

Ingham, Samuel D < 

Irvin, James 

Irvine, William 

Irwin, Jared 

Irwin, Thomas 

Irwin, William W 

Jack, William 

Jacobs, Israel 

James, Francis 

Jenkins, Robert 

Jenks, Michael H 

Jones, William 

Keim, George M 

Kelly, James 

King, Adam 

King, Henry 

Kittera, John W 

Kittera, Thomas 

Klingensmith, John, jr 

Krebs, Jacob 

Kremer, George 

Lacock, Abner 

Laporte, John 

Lawrence, Joseph < 

Leet, Isaac 

Lefevre, Joseph 

Leib, Michael 

Leib, Owen D 

Leiper, George G 

Levin, Lewis C 

Logan, Henry 

Lower, Christian 

Lucas, John B 

Lyle, Aaron 

Maclay, Samuel 

Maclay, William < 

Maclay, William P 

Mann, Job 

Mann, Joel K 

Marchand, A. G 

Marchand, David 

Markley, Philip S 

Marr, Alem 

M'Clenachan, Blair 

M'Clean, Moses 

M'Coy, Robert , 

M'Creedy, William 



From 


To 


1801 


'04 


1807 


'09 


1839 


'41 


1815 


'19 


1831 


'33 


1819 


'21 


1835 


'39 


1819 


'20 


1811 


'13 


1829 


'33 


1813 


'15 


1841 


'47 


1835 


'37 


1842 


'47 


1813 


'18 


1822 


'29 


1841 


'45 


1793 


'95 


1813 


'17 


1829 


'31 


1841 


'43 


1841 


'43 


1791 


'93 


1839 


"43 


1807 


'11 


1843, 


'45 


1801, 


•03 


1838 


'43 


1805, 


'09 


1827, 


'33 


1831 


'35 


1791, 


1801 j 


1826, 


'27 


1835, 


'39 


1826, 


'27 1 


1823, 


'29! 


1811, 


'13 


1833, 


'37 


1825, 


'29 


1841, 


'43 


1829, 


'31 


1811, 


'13 


1799, 


1806 


1845, 


'47 1 


1829 


'31 


1845, 


'47 


1835, 


'39 


1805, 


'07 


1803, 


'05 


1809, 


'17 


1795 


'97 


1815, 


'16 


1817, 


'19 


1816, 


'21 


1835 


'37 


1831 


'35 


1839 


'43 


1817 


'21 


1823 


'27 


1829 


'31 


1797 


'99 


1845 


'47 


1831 


'33 


1829, 


'31 



From 

M'Culloch, George 1840, 

M'Cullough, Thomas G 1820, 

M-Ilvaine, Abraham R 1843, 

M'Kean, Samuel 1823, 

M'Kennan, Thomas M. T. . j Jg^2' 

M'Sherry, James 1821, 

Miller, Daniel H 1823, 

Miller, Jesse 1833, 

Milnor, James 1811, 

C 1807, 
Milnor, William { 1815, 

( 1821, 

Miner, Charles 1825, 

Mitchell, James S 1821, 

Mitchell, John 1825, 

Montgomery, Daniel 1 807, 

Montgomery, William 1793, 

Moore, Robert 18 17, 

Moore, Samuel 1819, 

Morris, Matthias 1835, 

Morris, Samuel W 1837, 

Morris, Edward J 1843, 

Muhlenberg, Frederick A. ... 1789, 
Muhlenberg, Henry A 1829, 

C 1789, 
Muhlenberg, Peter { 1793, 

( 1799, 

Murray, John 1817, 

Murray, Thomas 1821, 

Nay lor, Charles 1837, 

Nes, Henry 1843, 

Newhard, Peter 1839, 

Ogle, Alexander 1817, 

Ogle, Charles 1837, 

Orr, Robert 1825, 

Paterson, Thomas 1817, 

Paulding, Levi 1817, 

Paynter, Lemuel 1 837, 

Petriken, David 1837, 

Phillips, John 1821, 

Philson, Robert 1819, 

Piper, William 1811, 

Plumer, Arnold j Jg^'J' 

Plumer, George 182]' 

Pollock, James 1843, 

Porter, John 1806, 

Potter, William W 1837, 

Potts, David, jr ' 1831, 

Pugh, John 1805, 

Ramsay, Robert ) l84l' 

Ramsay, William 1827, 

Ramsay, William S 1839, 

Ramsey, Alexander 1843, 

I^^^'Jo^" Jl8l3| 

Read, Almon H 1842, 

Reed, Charles M 1843, 

Reily, Luther 1837, 

Richards, Jacob 1803, 

Richards, John 1795, 

Richards, Matthias 1807, 



To 
'41 
'22 
'47 
'29 
'39 
'43 
'23 
'31 
'37 
'13 
'11 
'17 
'22 
'29 
'27 
'29 
'09 
'95 
'21 
'22 
'39 
'41 
'45 
'97 
'38 
'91 
'95 
1801 
'21 
'23 
'41 
'45 
'43 
'19 
'41 
'29 
'25 
'19 
'41 
'41 
'23 
'21 
'17 
'39 
'43 
'27 
'47 
'11 
'40 
'39 
'09 
'35 
'43 
'31 
'41 
'47 
'U 
'15 
'43 
'45 
'39 
'09 
'97 
'11 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



611 



From 

Hitter, John 1843, 

Roberts, Jonathan I8l], 

Rodman, William 1811, 

Rogers, Thomas 1 1818, 

Ross, John 5 J^09, 

Russell, James M 1842, 

Say, Benjamin 1808, 

Scott, John 1829, 

Scott, Thomas j j^^^^' 

Sergeant, J | j^^^' 

Sergeant, John 1837, 

Seybert, Adam 5 J^';'^' 

( ioll, 

Sheffer, Daniel 1837, 

Sill, Thomas H 1829, 

Simonton, William 1839, 

Sitgreaves, Samuel 1795, 

Slaymaker, Amos 1814, 

Smilie, John ^ ^^^^' 



To 
M7 
'14 
'13 
'24 
'11 
'18 
'43 
'09 
'31 
'91 
'95 
'23 
'29 
'42 
'15 
'19 
'39 
'31 
'43 
'98 
'15 
'95 
1799, 1813 

Smith, George 1809, '13 

Smith, Isaac 1813, '15 

Smith, Samuel 1805, '09 

Smith, Samuel A 1829, '33 

Smith, Thomas 1815, '17 

Smith, John T 1843, '45 

Snyder, John 1841, '43 

Spangler, Jacob 1817, '18 

Stephens, Philander 1829, '33 

Stephenson, James S 1825, '29 

Sterigere, John B 1827, '3 1 

C 1821, '29 

Stewart, Andrew ■? 1831, '35 

( 1843, '47 

Stewart, John 1800, '05 

Strohm, John 1845, '47 

Sutherland, Joel B 1827, '37 

Swan wick, John 1795, '98 

Tannehill, Adamson 1813, '15 

Tarr, Christian ^ ]8''o' '21 



Thomas, Richard 1795, 1801 

Thompson, Alexander 1824, 

Thompson, James 1845, 

Tod, John 1821, 

Toland, George W 1837, 



( 1813, 



'26 
'47 
'24 
'43 
'15 
'21 
'25 
'29 
'05 
'41 
'21 
Wain, Robert 1798, 1801 



Udree, Daniel { 1820, 

I 1822, 

Van Home, Espy 1825, 

Van Home, Isaac 1801, 

Wasener, D. D 1833, 

Wallace, James M 1815, 



Watmoush, John G 1831, '35 

Wayne, Isaac 1823, '25 

Westbrook, John 1841, '43 

Whitehill, James 1813, '14 

Whitehill, John 1803, '07 

Whitehill, Robert 1805, '13 

Whiteside, John 1815, '19 



From To 

Wilmot, David 1845 '47 

Wilson, Henry 1823 '26 

Wilson, James 1823, '28' 

Wilson, Thomas 1813, '17 

Wilson, William 1814, '19 

Wolf, George 1824, '29 

Woods, Henry 1790, 1803 

Woods, John 1815, '17 

Wormon, Ludwig 1820, '22 

Wurtz, John 1825, '27 

Wynkoop, Henry 1789, '91 

Yost, Jacob S 1843, '47 

Delaware. 
Senators. 

Bassett, Richard 1789, '93 

Bayard, James A 1804, '13 

Bayard, Richard H ^ !o^^' ?t 

( 1841, 45 

Clayton, John M 5 ^^29, '3T 

^ ' I 1845, '51 

Clayton, Joshua 1798, '99 

Clayton, Thomas 1823, '26 

Clayton, Thomas 1837, '47 

Horsey, Outerbridge 1810, '21 

Johns, Kensey 1794, '95 

Lattimer, Henry 1795, 1801 

M'Lane, Louis 1827, '29 

Naudain, Arnold 1 829, '36 

Read, George 1789, '93 

Ridgeley, Henry M 1826, '29 

Rodney, Caesar A 1821 '23 

Rodney, Daniel 1826' '27 

Van Dyke, N 1817, '26 

Vining, John 1793^ jgg 

Willes, William H \ J^^^, 1804 

( 1813, '17 
White, Samuel 1801, '10 

Representatives. 

ayard, James A. 1797, 1803 

'07 

'17 

'17 

'21 

'47 

'31 

'95 

'27 

'39 

'93 

'97 

'15 

'41 

'05 

'22 

'23 

'45 

'11 

'92 



Broome, James M 1805, 

Clayton, Thomas. . . . ,. 1815, 

Cooper, Thomas 1813, 

Hal], Willard 1817, 

Houston, John W 1845, 

Johns, Kensey 1827, 

Lattimer, Henry 1793, 

M'Lane, Louis 1817, 

Milligan, John J .'..1831, 

Paton, John < 1792, 

( 1795, 

Ridgeley, Henry M 1811, 

Robinson, Thomas 1839, 

Rodney, Caesar A 5 ]^^^> 

( 1821, 

Rodney, Daniel 1822, 

Rodney, George B 1841, 

Van Dyke, N 1807, 

Vining, John 1789, 

Maryland. 
Senators. 

Carroll, Charles 1789, 

Chambers, Ezekiel F. = 1826, 



'92 
'35 



612 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS- 



From 

Goldsborough, Robert H 1813, 

Goldsborough, Robert H 1835, 

Hanson, Alexander C 1816, 

Harper, Robert G 1815, 

Henry, John 1789, 

Hindman, William 1800, 

Howard, John E 1796, 

Johnson, Reverdy 1845, 

Kent, Joseph 1833, 

Kerr, John L 1841, 

Lloyd, Edward 1819, 

Lloyd, James 1797, 

Merrick, William D 1838, 

Pearce, James A 1843, 

Pinkney, William 1819, 

Potts, Richard 1792, 

Reed, Philip 1806, 

Smith, Samuel J J^^^' 

Spcnce, John S 1837', 

Wright, Robert iSOl, 

Representatives. 
Archer, John.. 1801, 

^-'^-'S \ml: 

Baer, George | J^^J' 

Barney, John 1825, 

Bayley, Thomas 1817, 

Bowie, AValter 1802, 

Brangle, Francis 1843, 

Brown, Elias 1R29, 

Brown, John 1809> 

Campbell, John 1801, 

Carmichael, R. B 1833, 

Carroll, Daniel 1789, 

Carroll, James 1839, 

Causin, John M. S 1843, 

Chapman, John G 1845, 

f 1793 
Christie, Gabriel j 1799' 

Constable, Albert 1845, 

Contee, Benjamin 1789, 

Covington, Leonard 1805, 

Crabb, Jeremiah 1795, 

Craik, William 1796, 

Culbreth, Thomas 1817, 

Dennis, John. 1797, 

Dennis, John 1837, 

Dennis, L. P 1833, 

Dent, George 1793, 

Dorsey, Clement 1825, 

Duvall, Gabriel 1794, 

Edwards, Benjamin 1794, 

Forrest, Uriah 1793, 

Gale, George 1789, 

Gale, Levin 1827, 

Giles, William F 184.5, 

Goldsborough, C. W 1805, 

Hanson, Alexander C 1813, 

Hayward, William 1823, 

Heath, James P 1833, 

Heister, Daaiel 1801, 



To 
'19 
'37 
'19 
'16 
'97 
'01 

1803 
'51 
'38 
'43 
'26 

1800 
'45 
'49 
'22 
'96 
'13 
'15 
'33 
'41 
'06 



'07 
'17 
'21 
'01 
'17 
'29 
'23 
'05 
'45 
'31 
'10 
'11 
'35 
'91 
'41 
'45 
'47 
'97 

1801 
'47 
'91 
'07 
'96 

180] 
'21 

1805 
'41 
'35 

1801 
'31 
'96 
'95 
'94 
'91 
'29 
'47 
'17 
'16 
'25 
'35 
'04, 



From To 

Herbert, John C 1815, '19 

Hillen, Solomon, jr 1839, '41 

Hindman, William 1792 '99 

Howard, Benjamin C ^ Ion?' '^^ 

' ^ 1835, '39 

Jenifer, Daniel J {gj. ',33 

Johnson, William C j ] ^33, |35 

Jones, Isaac D 1841, '43 

Kennedy, John P | jg8, ;39 

K-^'J'^-P^ Iml: '26 

Kerr, John L \]^ If^ 

Key, Philip 179l', '93 

Key, Philip B 1807, '13 

Lee, John 1823, '25 

Ligon, Thomas W 1845, '47 

Little Peter ^ 1811, '13 

Inline, feier ^ ^^^^^ ,^9 

Lloyd, Edward 1806, '09 

Long, Edward 1S45, '47 

Masruder, Patrick 1805, '07 

Martin, Robert N 1S25, '27 

Mason, John T 1841, '43 

Matthews, William 1797, '99 

M'Creary, William 1803, '09 

M'Kim, Alexander 1809, '15 

Mliim, Isaac ^ ^^3^^ ,^^ 

Mercer, John F 1792, '94 

Mitchell, George E | J^~^^ ,|^ 

Montgomery, John 1807, '1 1 

Moore, Nicolas R \ 11^,1' ',]l 

' ( 1813, '16 

Neall, Raphael 1819, '25 

Nelson, John 1821, '23 

Nelson, Roser 1804, '10 

Nicholson, Joseph H 1799, 1806 

Pearce,JamesA \\lf^'^ l^ 

Perry, Thomas 1845, '47 

Peter, George i 1825,' '27 

Pinkney, William 179 1', '92 

Pinkney, William 1815, '16 

Plater, Thomas 1801, '05 

Preston, Jacob A 1843, '45 

Randall, Alexander 1841, '43 

Tj 1 T)i,r ^ 1817, '19 

Reed, Phihp J jg2l| '23 

Ringgold, Samuel, J 18 !?' '21 

Semmes, Benedict J 1829, '33 

Senoy, Joshua 1789, '92 

Sheredine, Upton 179 1, '92 

o -.u Q , < 1793, 1803 

Smith, bamnel ) 18I6 '22 

Smith, William 1789' '91 

Sollers, Ausnstus R 1841, '43 

Spence, Thomas A 1843, M5 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



613 



Spence, John S 

Spencer, Richard 

Sprigg-, Michael C 

Sprigg, Richard 

Sprigg, Thomas 

Steele, John N 

Sterrett, Samuel 

Stoddard, J. T 

Stone, Michael 

Strudwick, William E. 

Stuart, Philip ■ 

Thomas, Francis 

Thomas, John C 

Thomas, Philip F , 

Turner, James ■ 

Van Home, Archibald., 
Vans, William Mun-ay 
Warfield, Henry R 



Washington, George C . . . , 

W^ecms, John C 

W^ethered, John 

Williams, James W 

Wilson, E. K 

Worthington, J. T. H.... 

Worthington, Thomas C . . . 

Wright, Robert 



Virginia. 

Senators. 



From 
1823 
1831 
.1829 
.1827 
1796 
1801 
.1793 
,1835 
.1791 
,1833 
.1789 
. 1796 
.1811 
,1831 
. 1799 
,1839 
,1833 
,1807 
,1791 
.1819 
1827 
1835 
,1826 
,1843 
,1841 
,1827 
1831 
1837 
,1825, 
1810 
1821 



To 

'25 
'33 
'31 
'31 
'99 
'02 
'96 
'•37 
'93 
'35 
'91 
'97 
'19 
'41 
1801 
'41 
'37 
'11 
'97 
'25 
'33 
'37 
'29 
'45 
'43 
'31 
'33 
'41 
'27 
'17 
'23 



Archer, William S 
Barbour, James 
Brent, Richard 
Eppes, John W 
Giles, William B 
Gray.son, William 
Lee, Richard H 
Leigh, Benjamin W 
Mason, Armisted C 
Mason, Stevens T 
Monroe, James 
Moore, Andrew 
Nicholas, Wilson C. 
Penny backer, Isaac S 
Pleasants, James 
Randolph, John 

Rives, William C 

Roane, William H 



Taylor, John. 



Tazewell, Henry 
Tazewell, Littleton W 

Tyler, John 

Vennble, Abraham B 
Wiilker, John 




Representatives. 

Alexander, Mark 

Allen, John J 

Allen, Robert 

Archer, William S 

Armstrong, William 

Atchinson, Archibald 

Austin Archibald 

Baker, John 

Ball, William L 

Banks, Linn 

Barbour, John S 

Barbour, Philip P \ 

Barton, Richard W 

Bassett, Burwell < 

Bayley, Thomas M 

Bayley, Thomas H 

Beale, James M. H 

Bedinger, Henry 

Beirne, Andrew 

Bland, Theodore 

Botts, John M 

Bouldin, James W 

Bouldin, Thomas T 

Breckenridge, James 

Brent, Richard 

Browne, John 

Brown, William G 

Burwell, William A 

Cabell, Samuel J 

Caperton, Hugh 

Carey, George B 

Chinn, Joseph W 

Chapman, Augustus A. . 

Chilton, Samuel 

Chinn, Joseph W 

Claiborne, John 

Claiborne, Nathaniel H. . 

Claiborne, Thomas 

Clark, Christopher 

Clay, Matthew 

Clopton, John 

Coke, Richard 

Coles, Isaac 

Coles, Walter 

Colston, Edward 

Craig. Robert 

Crump, John 

Davenport, Thomas 

Dawson, John 

Doddridge, Philip 

Draper, Joseph 

Dromgoole, George C . . . 



From To 



1819 


'33 


1833 


'35 


1827 


•'33 


1820 


'35 


1825 


'33 


1843 


'47 


1817 


'19 


1811 


'13 


1817 


'24 


1838 


'42 


1823 


'33 


1814 


'25 


1827 


'30 


1841 


'43 


1805 


'13 


1815 


'19 


1821 


'31 


1813 


'15 


1843 


'47 


1833 


'37 


1845 


'47 


1837 


'41 


1789 


'90 


1839 


'43 


1833 


, '39 


1829 


'33 


1809 


, '17 


1795 


'99 


1801 


'03 


1789 


'92 


1845 


'47 


1806 


'21 


1795 


1803 


1813 


'15 


1841 


'43 


1831 


'35 


1843 


'47 


1843 


'45 


1831 


'35 


1805 


'OS 


1825 


'37 


1793 


'99 


1801 


'05 


1804 


'06 


1797 


1813 


1795 


'99 


1801 


'16 


1829 


'33 


1789 


'91 


1793 


'97 


1835 


'45 


1817 


'19 


1829 


'33 


1835 


'41 


1826 


'27 


1825 


'35 


1797 


1814 


1829, 


'32 


1830 


'31 


1832, 


'33 


1835, 


'41 


1843, 


'47 



614 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



From 
Eggleston, John 1798, 

Eppes, John W > iSls' 

Estill, Benjamin 1825 

Evans, Thomas 1797 

Floyd, John 1817 

Fulton, John H 1833 

Garland, David S 1809 

Garland, James 1835 

Garnett, James M 1805 

Garnett, Robert S 1817 

Gholson, J. H 1833 

Gholson, Thomas 1808 

Giles, William B < „„ 

Gilmer, Thomas W 1841 

Gogsin, William L 1839 

Goode, Samuel 1799 

Goode,W. O 1841 

Goodwin, Peterson 1803 

Gordon, William F 1829 

Gray, Edwin 1799 

Grav, John C 1820 

Griffin, Samuel 1789 

Griffin, Thomas 1803 

Hancock, George 1793 

Harris, William A 1841 

Harrison, Carter B 1793 

Hawes, Aylett 1811 

Hayes, Samuel 1841 

Heath, John 1793 

Hill, John 1839 

Holleman, Joel 1839, 

Holmes, David 1797 

Hopkins, George W 1835' 

Hubard, Edmund W 184 1 

Hungerford, John P 1813 

< 1837 



Hunter, R. M. T. 



1845 



Jackson, Edward B 1820 

C 1795 
Jackson, John George < 179P 

( 1813 
Johnson, James 18 13 

C 1823 
Johnson, Joseph < 1835 

( 1845 

Johnson, Charles C 183 1 

Jones, James 1819 

Jones, John W 1835 

Jones, Walter j ^ oX„ 

Kerr, John 1813 

Leake, Shelton F 1845 

Lee, Henry 1799 

Lee, Richard Bland 1789^ 

Leffler, Isaac 1827 

Leftwich, Jabez 1821 

Lewis, Joseph 1803 

Lewis, William J 1817 

Love, John 1807 

Loyall, George 1831 

Lucas, Edward 1833 



To 
1801 
'11 
'15 
'27 
1801 
'29 
'35 
'11 
'41 
'09 
'27 
'35 
'16 
'98 
'02 
'43 
'45 
1801 
'43 
'18 
'35 
1813 
'21 
'95 
'05 
'97 
'43 
'99 
'17 
'43 
'97 
'41 
'41 
1809 
'47 
'47 
'17 
'43 
'47 
'23 
'97 
1810 
'17 
'20 
'27 
'41 
'47 
'32 
'23 
'45 
'99 
'11 
'17 
'47 
1801 
'95 
'29 
'25 
'17 
'19 
'11 
'37 
'37 



From To 

Lucas, William 5 ]l^.^> '-ji 

' ( 1843, '4o 

Machir, James 1797, '99 

Madison, James 1789, '97 

Mallory, Francis J jg]^ '^^ 

Marshall, John 1799* 1800 

Mason, James M 1837, '39 

Mason, John Y 1831, '37 

Max well, Lewis 1 827, '33 

M'Carty, William M 1840, '41 

M'Comas, William 1833, '37 

M'Coy, William 1811, '33 

M'Kinley, William 1810, '11 

Mercer, Charles F 18 17, '40 

Moore, Andrew < iSi)"?' '04. 

Moore, S. M'D 1833^ '35 

Moore, Thomas L 1820, '23 

Morgan, Daniel 1797, '99 

Morgan, William S 1835, '39 

Morrow, John 1805, '09 

Nelson, Hugh 1811, '23 

Nelson, Thomas M 1816, '19 

Nevel, Joseph 1793, '95 

New, Anthony 1793, 1805 

Newton, Thomas 1 1831' '33 

Newton, Willoughby " 1843*, '45 

Nicholas, Wilson C 1807, '09 

Nicholas, John 1793, 1801 

Page, John 1789, '97 

Pas:e, Robert 1799, ISOI 

Parker, Josiah 1789, 180] 

Parker, Severn E I8l9, '21 

Patton, John M 1830, '38 

Pegram, John 1818, '19 

Pendleton, John S 1845, '47 

Pennybacker, Isaac S 1837, '39 

Pindall, James 1817, '20 

Pleasants, James 1811, '19 

Powell, Alfred H 1825, '27 

Powell, Cuthbert 1841, '43 

Powell, Levin 1799, 1801 

Preston, Francis 1 793, '97 

ri799, 1813 

Randolph, John j J^J^| !^^ 

[l827^ '29 

Randolph, Thomas M 1803, '07 

Rives. Francis E 1837, '41 

Rives, William C 1823, '29 

13 T I, S 1827, '31 

Roane, John j jggg^ ,37 

Roane, John J ,...1831, '33 

Roane, John T 1809, '15 

Roane, William H 1815, '17 

Robertson, John 1834, '39 

Rutherford, Robert 1793, '97 

Samuel, Green B 1839, '41 

Sfdden, James A 1845, '47 

ShefTey, Daniel 1809, '17 

Smith, Arthur 1821, '25 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



G15 



Smith, Ballard 1815, 

Smith, John 1801, 

Smith, William 1821, 

Smith, William 1842, 

Smyth, Alexander ) i S07' 

Steenrod, Lewis 1839, 

C 1803, 

Stephenson, James < 1809, 

( 1822, 

Stevenson, Andrew 1821, 

Stratton, John 1801, 

Strother, Geors;e F 1817, 

Stuart, Archibald 1837, 

Stuart, A. H. H 1841, 

Summers, George W 1841, 

Swearingen, Thomas V 1819, 

Swoope, Jacob 1809, 

Taliaferro, John ] 1 S 1 1 ' 

Taliaferro, John < 1835' 

Tate, Magnus 1815, 

Taylor, Robert 1825, 

Taylor, William P 1833, 

Taylor, William 1843, 

Tazewell, Littleton W 1800, 

Thompson, Philip R 1801, 

Tread way, William M 1845, 

Trezvant, James 1825, 

Trigg, Abram 1797, 

Trisjs:, John 1797, 

Tucker, H. St. George 1815, 

Tucker, George 1819, 

Tyler, John I8I6, 

Venable, A. B 1791, 

Walker, Francis 1793, 

White, Alexander 1789, 

White, Francis 1813, 

Williams, Jared 1819, 

Wilson, Alexander 1804, 

Wilson, E. C 1833, 

Wilson, Thomas 1811, 

Wise, Henry A 1833, 

North Carolina. 



To 

'21 
'15 

'27 
'43 
'25 
'30 
'45 
'05 
'11 
'25 
'34 
'03 
'20 
'39 
'43 
'45 
'22 
'11 
'03 
'13 
'31 
'43 
'17 
'27 
'35 
'47 
'01 
'07 
'47 
'31 
1809 
1804 
'19 
'25 
'21 
'99 
'95 
'93 
'15 
'25 
'09 
'35 1 
'13 I 
'43 



Senators, 



Bloodworth, Timothy. 

Branch, John 

Brown, Bedford 

Franklin, Jesse 

Graham, William A. . . 
Hawkins, Benjamin . . . 
Haywood, William H. . 

Iredell, James 

Johnston, Samuel 

Locke, Francis 

Macon, Nathaniel. . . . 

Mangum, Willie P.... 

Martin, Alexander.. . . 
Stokes, Montfort 



.1795, 1801 
1823, '29 
1829, '41 
1799, 1805 
1807, '13 
,1841, 
1789, 
1843, 
1828, 
1789, 
1814, 
1815, 
1131, 
1841, 
1793, 
1816, 



Fiom To 

c, T, •, (, 1801, '07 

Stone, David j 1813^ '14 

Strange, Robert 1837*, '41 

Turner, James 1805, '16 

Repres€7iiatives. 

Alexander, Evan 1805, '09 

Alexander, N 1803, '05 

Alston, Willis 1799, 1803 

Alston, Willis, jr > 1825 '31 

Arrington, A. H 184l' '45 

Ashe, John B 1790, '93 

Barringer, Daniel L 1826, '35 

Barringer, Daniel M 1843, '47 

Bethune, Lauchlin 1831, '33 

C 1803, '09 

Blackledge, William S < 1811, '13 

i 1821, '23 

Bloodworth, Timothy 1790, '91 

C 1793, '99 

Blount, Thomas ] 1 805, '09 

( 1811, '12 

Branch, John 1831, '33 

Biggs, Asa 1845, '47 

Bryan, Nathan 1795, '98 

Bryan, John H 1825, '27 

Bryan, Joseph H 1815, '19 

Burgess, Dempsey 1795, '98 

Burton, Hutchins G 1819, '24 

Bynum, J. A 1833, '41 

Caldwell, Green W 1841, '43 

Carson, Samuel P 1825, '33 

Clark, James W 1815, '17 

Clarke, Henry S 1845, '47 

Clingman, Thomas L 1843, '45 

Cockran, James 1809, '13 

Conner, H. W 1821, Ml 

Crudup, Josiah 1821, '23 

ri807, '09 

I 1813, '17 

Culpeper, John J, 18 19, '21 

j 1823, '25 

tl841, '43 

Daniel, John R. J 1841, '47 

Davidson, William 1818, '21 

Dawson, William J 1793, '95 

T^ u r-j J ^ 1829, '31 

Debery, Edmund < 1833 '45 

Dickens, Samuel 1816, '17 

Dixon, Joseph 1799, 1801 

Dobbin, James C 1845, '47 

Dockery, Alfred 1845, "47 

Dudley, Edward B 1829, '31 

Edwards, Weldon N 1816, '27 

Fisher, Charles i 1839* '41 

Forney, Daniel M 1815^ '18 

Forney, Peter 1813, '15 

Franklin, Jesse 1795, '97 

Franklin, Meshack 1807, '15 

Gaston, William 1813, '17 

Gatlin, Alfred M 1 823, '25 



616 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Gillispie, James. 



Graham, James 

Grove, William B 

Hall, Thomas H 

Hawkins, M. T 

Henderson, Archibald. 

Hill, John 

Hill, William H 

Hines, Richard 

Holland, James 

Holmes, Gabriel 

Hooks, Charles 

Johnston, Charles.... 
Kenan, Thomas 



Kennedy, William. 



King, William R 

Locke, Matthew 

Long, John 

Love, William C. . .. . 
Macon, Nathaniel.... 

Mangum, Willie P 

M'Bride, Archibald. . . 

M'Dowell, Joseph..., 

M'Farland, Duncan.. . 
M'Kay, James J 

M'Neill, Archibald.... 

Mehane, Alexander. . . 
Mitchell, Anderson. . . 
Montgomery, William . 

Mumford, George 

Murfree, William H.. 
Outlaw, George B. . . . 

Owen, James 

Pettigrew, E 

Pierson, Joseph 

Pickens, Israel 

Potter, Robert 

Purviance, Samuel D. 

Rayner, Kenneth 

Reid, David S 

Rencher, Abraham. . . 



Saunders, Romulus M. 



Sawyer, Lemuel. 



Sawyer, S.T 

Settle, Tliomas 

Sevier, John , 

Shadwick, William 

Shepard, Charles 

Shepard, William B..., 

ShepperJ, Augustus H. 



Frnm 


To 


1793, 


'99 


1803, 


'05 


1833, 


'43 


1845, 


'47 


• 1791 


1803 
'25 


1817, 


1827, 


'35 


.1831, 


'41 


. 1799, 


1803 


1839, 


'41 


.1799, 


1803 


1825, 


'27 


1795, 


'97 


1801, 


'11 


1825, 


'29 


1816, 


'17 


18)9, 


'25 


1801, 


'02 


1805, 


'11 


1803, 


'05 


1809, 


'11 


1812, 


'15 


1811, 


'16 


1793, 


'99 


1821, 


'29 


1815, 


'17 


1791, 


1815 


1823, 


'26 


1809, 


'13 


1793, 


'95 


1797, 


'99 


1805, 


'07 


1831, 


'47 


1821, 


'23 


1825, 


'27 


1793, 


'94 


1842, 


'43 


1835, 


'41 


1817, 


'19 


1813, 


'17 


1824, 


'25 


1817, 


'19 


1835, 


'37 


1809, 


'15 


1811, 


'17 


1829, 


'31 


1803, 


'05 


1839, 


'45 


1843, 


'47 


1829, 


'39 


1841, 


'43 


1821, 


'27 


1841, 


'45 


1807, 


'13 


1817, 


'23 


1825, 


'29 


1837. 


'39 


1817, 


'21 


1790, 


'91 


1796. 


'97 


1837, 


'41 


1827, 


'37 


1829, 


'39 


1841, 


'43 



From To 

Slocum, Jesse 18l7, '21 

Smith, James S 1817, '21 

Speight, Jesse 1829, '37 

Speight, Richard D 1798, 1801 

Speisht, Richard D 1823, '25 

Stanford, Richard 1797, 1816 

Stanley, Edward 1837, '43 

o. 1 T », ^ 1801, '03 

Stanley, John > 1809 '11 

Steele, John 179o' '9.3 

Stewart, James 1818, '19 

Stone, David 1799, 1801 

Tatum, Absalom 1795, '96 

Turner, Daniel 1827, '29 

Vance, Robert B 1823, '25 

Walker, Felix 1817, '23 

Washington, W. H 1841, '43 

Williams, Benjamin 1793, '95 

Williams, Lewis 1815, '42 

Williams, Marmaduke 1803, '09 

Williams, Robert 1797, 1803 

Williamson, Hugh 1790, '93 

Winston, Joseph ) jj^jjj' ,^^ 

Wynn, Thomas I8O2', '07 

Yancey, Barllett 1813, '17 

South Carolina. 
Senators. 

Butler, Pierce J J^^^ [^ 

Calhoun, J. E 1801^ '02 

r. 11 T u r- ^ 1832, '42 

Calhoun, John C J 1845 '47 

Gaillard, John 1804* '26 

Harper, William 1826, '26 

Hayne, Robert Y 1823, '32 

Huger, Daniel E 1842, '45 

Hunter, John 1796, '98 

Izard, Ralph 1789, '95 

M'Duffie, George 1843, '49 

Miller, Stephen D 1831, '34 

Pinckney, Charles 1798, 1801 

Preston, William C 1834, '42 

Read, Jacob 1795, 1802 

o .., wir 5 1816, '23 

Smith, William ) 1826 '31 

Sumter, Thomas I8O2', '10 

Taylor, John 1801, '16 

Representatives. 

Alston, Lemuel J 1807, '11 

Barnwell, Robert 1791, '93 

Barnwell, R. W 1829, '33 

Bellinger, Joseph 1817, '19 

Benton, Lemuel 1793, '98 

Black, James A 1843, '47 

T(i • T ^ 1821, '22 

Blair, James > 18''9 '34 

Brevard, .Tames 1819^ '21 

Burke, Edamus 1789, '91 

Burt, Artcmas 1843, '47 

Butler, Samson H 1840, '43 



SENATORS AND RKI'RESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



617 



Prom 

Butler, William 1801, 

Butler, William 1841, 

Caldwell, P. C 1841, 

Calhoun, John C 1811, 

Calhoun, Joseph 1807, 

Campbell, John , \ ]fz^' 

( loot, 

Campbell, R.B ^ |^;^' 

( looO, 

Campbell, Thomas F 1834, 

Carter, John 1822, 

Casey, Levi 1803, 

Chappell, John J 1813, 

Cheves, Langdon 1810, 

Clowney,W. K J J^^^' 

Davis, W. R 1827,' 

Drayton, William 1825, 

C 1805, 
EarlCjElias < 1811, 

t 1817, 

Earle, John B 1803, 

Earle, Samuel 1795, 

Elmore, F. H 1837, 

Evans, David R 1813, 

Felder, John M 1831, 

Farrow, Samuel 1813, 

Gillon, Alexander 1793, 

Gist, Joseph 1821, 

Gourdin, Theodore 1813, 

Govan, A. R 1822, 

Grayson, William J 1833, 

Griffin, J. K 1831, 

Hamilton, James 1822, 

Hammond, James H 1835, 

Hampton, Wade J J^^^' 

Harper, R. G 1794', 1801 

Holmes, Isaac E 1839, M7 

rj -a ■ ■ ^ 1799, 1805 

nuger, BenjaniD > 181^ '17 

Huger, Daniel. . 1789^ '93 

Hunter, John 1793, '95 

Irwin, James 1817, '21 

Kershaw, John 1813, '15 

Legare, Hu-h S 1837, '39 

Lowndes, Thomas 1801, '05 

Lowndes, William 1811, '22 

Manning, R. J 1834, '36 

Marion,' Robert 1805, '10 

Martin, William D 1827, '33 

Mayrant, William 1815, '16 

M'Duffie, George 1821, '35 

M'Ready, James 1819, '21 

Middleton, Henry 1815, '19 

Miller, S. D ...1817, '19 

( 1821, '23 

Mitchell, T. R { 1825, '29 

( 1831, '33 

TVT TU <i 1801, '13 

Moore, 1 nomas > 1815 '17 

Nesbitt, Wilson 1817* '19 

Nott, Abraham 1799, 1801 

Nuckolls, WiUiam C 1827, '33 



To 
'13 
'43 
'43 
'17 
'II 
'31 
'45 
'25 
'37 
'35 
'29 
'07 
'17 
'15 
'35 
'39 
'35 
'33 
'07 
'15 
'21 
'05 
'97 
'39 
'15 
'35 
'15 
'94 
'27 
'15 
'27 
'37 
'41 
'29 
'37 
'97 
'05 



Prom 

verstreet, James 1819, 

Pickens, Andrew 1793, 

Pickens, Francis W 1&35, 

Pinckney, Charles 1819, 

Pinckney, H. L 1833, 

Pinckney, Thomas 1797, 

Poinsett, Joel R 1821, 

Rhett, Robert B 1838, 

Richardson, John P 1837, 

Rogers, James < .ooq' 

Rutledge, John 1797' 

Simpkins, Eldrid 1818, 

Simpson, Richard F 1843, 

Sims, A. D 1845, 

Smith, O'Bryan 1805, 

Smith, William 1789, 

Smith, William 1797, 

Sumter, Thomas j |I^^' 

Sumter, Thomas D 1 840,' 

Taylor, John 1807, 

Taylor, John 1815, 

Thompson, Waddy 1835, 

Tucker, Starling 1817, 

Tucker, Thomas T 1789, 

Williams, David R J j^^^' 

Wilson, John 1821,' 

Witherspoon, Robert 1809, 

Woodward, William 1815, 

Woodward, Joseph A 1843, 

Wynn, Richard ^^ }J^^' 

Georgia. 

Senators. 

Baldwin, A 1799, 

Berrien, J. M J jg^^' 

Bibb, William W 1813,' 

Bullock, William B 1813, 

Cobb, Thomas W 1824, 

Colquitt, Walter T 1843, 

Crawford, William H 1807, 

Cuthbert, Alfred 1835, 

Elliot, John 1819, 

Few, William 1789, 

Forsyth, John ^ }^J^^ 

( 1789 
Gunn, James > i7qi' 

C 1793 
Jackson, James } lom' 

^ JoUjI, 

Jones, George , 1807, 

King, John P 1834, 

Lumpkin, Wilson 1838, 

Milledge, John 1806, 

Prince, Oliver H 1828, 

Tait, Charles 1809, 

Tatnall, Josiah 1796, 

t™up,g.m lllll'^ 



To 
'22 
'95 
'43 
'21 
'37 

1801 
'25 
'47 
'40 
'37 
'43 

1803 
'21 
'47 
'47 
'07 
'97 
'99 
'93 

1802 
'43 
'10 
'17 
'41 
'31 
'93 
'09 
'13 
'27 
'11 
'17 
'47 
'97 
•13 



1807 
'29 
'47 
'16 
'13 
'28 
'49 
'13 
'43 
'25 
'93 
'19 
'34 
'90 

1801 
'95 
'06 
'07 
'38 
'41 
'09 
'29 
'19 
'99 
'18 
'34 



618 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Walker, Freeman 1819, 

Walker, John 1790, 

Walton, George 1795, 

Ware, Nicholas 1821, 

Representatives. 

Abbott, Joel 

Alvord, Julius C 

Baldwin, A 

Barnett, William 

Bibb, Wm. W 



Lumpkin, Wilson. 



Black, Edward J 

Bryan, Joseph 

Carnes, Thomas P. . . . 

Cary, George 

Clayton, Ausustine S- 

Cleaveland, J. F 

Clinch, Duncan L 

Chappell, Absalom H. 

Cobb, Howell 



Cobb, Thomas W I 

Coffee, John 

Colquitt, Walter T \ 

Cook, Zadock 

Cooper, Mark A \ 

Crawford, Joel 

Cuthbert, A \ 

Cuthbert, John A 

Dawson, W. C 

Early, Peter 

Floyd, John 

Forsyth, John \ 

Fort, Tomlinson 

Foster, Thomas S 

Foster, Thomas F 

Gamble, Roger L \ 



Gilmer, George R. . 

Glascock, Thomas. 
Grantland, Seaton. 
Habersham, R. W. 

Hall, Boiling 

Hammond, Samuel. 
Haralson, Hugh A. 

Haynes, Charles E. 

Holsey, Hopkins. . . 
Jackson, Jabez.. . . 
Jackson, James. . . . 
Jones, James 



Jones, Seaborn 

Kins:, Thomas Butler. 
Lamar, Henry G 



.1817 
,1839 
, 1789' 
.1812. 
.1806 
1839 
1842 
1803 
1793 
1823 
1831 
1836 
1843 
1843 
1807 
1843 
1817 
1823 
1833 
1839 
1842 
1817 
1839 
1842 
1817 
1814 
1821 
1819 
1837 
1802 
1827 
1813 
1823 
1827 
1829 
1841 
1833 
1841 
1821 
1827 
1833 
1836 
1835 
1839 
18J1 
1803 
1843 
1825 
1835 
183H 
1836 
1789 
1799 
1833 
1845 
1839 
1815 
1829 



'25 
'42 
'99 
'15 
'14 
'41 
'45 
'06 
'95 
'27 
'35 
'39 
'45 
'45 
'12 
'47 
'21 
'24 
'37 
'41 
'43 
'19 
'41 
'43 
'21 
'17 
'27 
'21 
'42 
'07 
'29 
'18 
'27 
'29 
'35 
'43 
'35 
'43 
'23 
'29 
'35 
'39 
'39 
'43 
'17 
'05 
'47 
'31 
'39 
'39 
'39 
'91 
1801 
'35 
'47 
'43 
'47 
'33 



From To 

5 1815, '17 

•'I 1827, '31 

Lumpkin, Joseph H 1843, '47 

Matthews, George 1789, '91 

Meriwether, Daniel. 1802, '07 

Meriwether, James 1825, '27 

Meriwether, J. A 1841, '43 

C 1792, '93 

Milledge, John \ 1795, '99 

( 1801, '02 

Newman, Daniel 1831, '33 

Nisbet,E. A 1839, '42 

Owens, George W 1835, '39 

Reid, Robert R 1818, '23 

Schley, William 1833, '35 

Smelt, Dennis 1806, '11 

Spalding, Thomas 1 805, '06 

Stephens, Alex. H 1S43, '47 

Stiles, William H 1843, '45 

Taliaferro, Benjamin 1799, 1802 

Tatnall, Edward F 1821, '27 

Telfair, Thomas 1813, '17 

Terrill, William 1817, '21 

Thompson, Wiley 1821, '33 

Toombs, Robert 1845, '47 

Towns, George W. B ^ Jg^| ',f^ 

Troup, George M 1807^ '15 

Warren, Lott 1839, '43 

Wayne, Anthony 1791, '92 

Wavne, James M 1829, '35 

Willis, Francis 1791, '93 

i 1815, '17 

Wilde, Richard Henry { 1824, '25 

( 1827, '35 

Alabama. — 1819. 
Senators. 

Bagby, Arthur P 1842, M9 

Chambers, Henry 1825, '26 

Clay, Clement C 1827, '42 

Kelly, William 1822, '25 

King, William R I8l9, '44 

Lewis, Dixon H 1844, '47 

M'Kinley, John 1826, '31 

Moore, Gabriel 183 1, '37 

Walker, John W 1819, '22 

Representatives. 

Baylor, R. E. B 1829, '31 

Belser, James E 1843, '45 

Chapman, Reuben 1835, '47 

Clay, Clement C 1827, '35 

Crabb, George W 1839, '41 

Crowell, John 1817, '21 

Dargin, Samuel D 1845, '47 

C 1839 '41 

Dellet, James > 1843* '45 

Hilliard, Henry W 1843^ '47 

Houston, George S 1841, '47 

Hubbard, David 1839, '41 

Kellv, William 1821, '22 

Lawler, Joab 1835, '.38 

Lewis, Dixon H 1829, '44 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



619 



From 

Lyon, Francis S 1835, 

Mardis, Samuel W 1831, 

Martin, Joshua L 1835, 

M'Connell, Felix G 1843, 

M'Kee, John 1823, 

M'Kinley, John 1833, 

Moore, Gabriel , 1822, 

Murphy, John 1833, 

Owen, George W 1823, 

Payne, Winter W 1841, 

Shields, Benjamin G 1841, 

Yancey, William L 1844, 

Mississippi. — 1817. 
Senators. 

Adams, George 1829, 

Black, John 1834, 

Chalmers, Joseph W 1845, 

Ellis, Powhatan j jggy' 

Henderson, John 1839, 

Holmes, David 1820, 

Leake, Walter 1817, 

Poindexter, George 1831, 

Read, Thomas B \ Jooo' 

Speight, Jesse 1845, 

Trotter, James 1838, 

"Walker, Robert J 1836, 

Williams, Thomas H 1817, 

Representatives. 

Adams, Stephen 1845, 

Brown, Albert G 1839, 

Cage, Henry 1833, 

Claiborne, J. F. H f 1835, 

Davis, Jefferson 1845, 

Dickson, David 1835, 

Gholson, S. H 1837, 

Greene, Thomas M 1802, 

Gwin, William M'K 1841, 

Haile, William 1826, 

Hammet, William J 1843, 

Hinds, Thomas 1828, 

Hunter, Nars worthy 1801, 

Laltimore, William < ISn' 

Plummer, Franklin E ) 1834' 

Poindexter, George < ISI?' 

Prentiss, Sergeant S 1838', 

Rankin, Christopher 1819, 

Roberts, Robert W J843, 

Thompson, Jacob 1839, 

Tucker, Tilshman W 1843, 

Word, Thomas J 1838, 

Louisiana. — 1812. 
Senators. 

Barrow, Alexander 1841, 

Brown, James / 1819* 



'30 
'38 
'47 
'26 
'33 
'45 
'25 
'20 
'35 
'27 
'29 
'51 
'39 
'45 
'31 



From 

Bouligny, Dominique 1824, 

Claiborne, William C. C 1817, 

Conrad, Charles M 1842, 

Fromentin, Eligius 1813, 

Gayarre, Charles A 1835, 

C 1 8l8 
Johnson, Henry < isi^' 

Johnston, Josiah S 1824, 

Livingston, Edward 1829, 

Magruder, Allan B 1812, 

Mouton, Alexander 1837, 

Nicholas, R, C 1836, 

Porter, Alexander 1 834, 

Posey, Thomas 1812, 

Waggaman, George A 1831, 

Representatives. 

Brent, William L 1823, 

Bullard, Henry A 1831, 

Butler, Thomas I8l8, 

Chinn, Thomas W 1 839, 

Clark, Daniel 1806, 

Dawson, John B 1841, 

Garland, Rice 1834, 

Gurley, Henry H 1823, 

Harmanson, John H 1845, 

Johnson, Henry 1835, 

Johnston, Josiah S 1821, 

Labranche, Alcee 1843, 

La Sere, Emile 1846, 

Livingston, Edward 1823, 

Moore, John 1841, 

Morse, Isaac E 1843, 

Overton, Walter H 1829, 

Poydras, Julian 1809, 

Ripley, Eleazar W 1835, 

Robertson, Thomas B 1812, 

Slidell, John 1843, 

Thibodeaux, B. G 1845, 

Thomas, Philemon 1831, 

White, Edward D \ ] ^zt' 

( iooVf 

Arkansas.— 1836. 
Senators. 

Ashley, Chester 1845, 

Fulton, William S 1836, 

Sevier, Ambrose H 1836, 

Representatives. 
Cross, Edward 1839, 

Yell, Archibald \ |^^!' 

^ Io4o, 



To 
'29 
'18 
'43 
'19 
'36 
'24 
'49 
'33 
'31 
'13 
'42 
'41 
'37 
'13 
'35 



'29 
'34 
'21 
'41 
'09 
'45 
'40 
'31 
'47 
'39 
'23 
'45 
'47 
'29 
'43 
'47 
'31 
'12 
'39 
'18 
'45 
'47 
'35 
'34 
'43 



'47 
'47 
'43 



'45 
'39 

'47 



Tennessee. — 1796. 
Senators. 

Anderson, Alexander 1840, '41 

Anderson, Joseph 1797, 1815 

Blount, William 1796, '97 

Campbell George W > ikIj' '18 



620 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Cocke, William 

Eaton, John H 
Foster, Ephraim H 

Grundy, Felix 

Jackson, Andrew 

Jarnagin, Spencer 
Nicholson, A. 0. P. 

Smith, Daniel 

Turney, Hopkins L. . .^ 
Wharton, Jesse 

White, Hugh L 

Whiteside, Jenkin 
Williams, John.. . 




5 1829, 
( 1839, 



Representatives. 

Alexander, Adam R 

Allen, Robert 

Arnold, Thomas D 

Ashe, John B 

Bell, John 

Blackwell, Julius tV 

Blair, John 

Blount, William G 

Eowen, John H 

Brown, Aaron V 

Brown, Milton 

Bryan, Henry H 

Bunch, Samuel 

Campbell, G. W 

Campbell, Thomas J 

Campbell, William B 

Cannon, Newton 

Carter, William B 

Caruthers, Robert L , 

Chase, L. B 

Cheatham, Richard 

Claiborne, Thomas , 

Claiborne, William C. C 

Cocke, John 

Cocke, William M 

Crockett, David 

Crockett, John W , 

Crozier, John 

Cullom, Alvan , 

Desha, Robert , 

Dickinson, D. W , 

Dickinson, David W 

Dickson, William 

Dunlap, William C 

Ewing, Edwin H 

Fitzgerald, William , 

Forrester, J. B , 



,1823, 
.1819, 
183], 
18-11, 
.1843, 
,1827, 
1839, 
1843, 
.1823, 
1815, 
1813, 
1839, 
1841, 
1819, 
1833, 
1803, 
1841, 
1837, 
1814, 
1819, 
1835, '41 
1841, '43 
1845, '47 
1837, '39 
1817, '19 
1797, 1801 
1819, '27 
184.5, 



Gentry, Meredith P. 
Grundy, Felix. ...... 



1827, 

18,33, 
. 1837, 
.1845, 
.1845, 
.1827, 
.1833, 
,1843, 
.1801, '07 
,1R33, '37 
.1845, 
,1831, 
.1833, 

1839, 

1845, 
,1811, 



From 

Hall, William 18:J1, 

Harris, Thomas K 1813, 

Henderson, Bennett H 1815, 

Hogg, Samuel J8l7, 

Houston, Samuel 1823, 

Humphreys, Perry W 1813, 

Huntsman, Adam 1835, 

Inge, William M 1833, 

Isaacs, Jacob C J823, 

Jackson, Andrew 1796, 

Johnson, Cave 

Johnson, Andrew 1843, 

Jones, Francis 1817, 

Jones, George W 1843, 

Lea, Luke. 1833, 

Lee, Prior 1827, 

Marable, John H 1825, 

Marr, George W. L 1817, 

Martin, Barclay 1845, 

Maurv, Abraham P 1835, 

M'Cldlan, Abraham 1837, 

Miller, Pleasant M 1809, 

Mitchell, James C , 1825, 

Peyton, Bailie 1833, 

Peyton, Joseph H 1843, 

Polk, James K i825, 

Powell, Samuel 1815, 

Reynolds, James B \ ]^l^> 

5 1803, 

I 1817, 

Sandford, James T 1823, 

Senter, William T 1843, 

Sevier, John 1811, 

Shields, Ebenezer J 1835, 

Standifer, James J „~ ' 

Stanton, Frederick P 1845, 

Stone, William 1838, 

Thomas, Isaac 1815, 

Turney, H. L 1837, 

Watterson, Harvey M 1839, 

Weakley, Robert 1809, 

Wharton, Jesse 1807, 

White, James 1792, 

Williams, Christopher H 1837, 

Williams, Joseph L 1837, 



Rhea, John. 



To 

'33 

'J5 

'17 

'19 

'27 

'15 

'37 

'35 

'33 

'97 

'37 

'45 

'47 

'23 

'47 

'37 

'31 

'29 

'19 

'47 

'39 

'43 

'11 

'29 

'37 

'45 

'39 

'17 

'17 

'25 

'15 

'23 

'25 

'45 

'15 

'39 

'25 

'37 

'47 

'39 

'17 

'43 

'43 

'11 

'09 

'94 

'43 

'43 



Kentucky. — 1792. 

Senators. 

Adair, John 1805, '06 

Barry, William T ,.1814, '16 

TJKK n T»* ^ 1811, '14 

Bibb, George M ) 1829, '35 

Bledsoe, Jesse. ; 1813,' '15 

Breckenridge, John 1801, '05 

Browne, John 1792, '05 

( 1806, '07 

Clay, Henry / 1810, '11 

I 1831, '42 

( 1817, '19 

Crittenden, John J < 183.5, '41 

( 1842, '49 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



621 



From 

Edwards, John 1792, 

Hardin, RIartin T 1816, 

Johnson, Richard M 1819, 

Logan, AVilliam 1819, 

Marshall, Humphrey 1795, 

Morehead, James T 1841, 

Pope, John 1807, 

Rowan, John 1825, 

Talbot, Isham < ]82o' 

Thurston, John Buckner 1805, 

Walker, George 1814, 

Represeniatives. 

Adair, John 1831 

Allan, Chilton .....1831 

Anderson, Richard C 1817 

Anderson, S. H 1839 

Andrews, L. W 1839 

Barry, William T 1810 

Beatty, Martin 1833 

Bedin?er, George M 1803 

Bell, Joshua F.^ 1845 

■OAT- 5 1835 

Boyd, Linn | i839 

Breckenrid^e, J. D 1821 

Brown, William 1819 

Buckner, Richard A 1823 

Bullock, Wingfield 1820 

Butler, William O 1839 

Caldwell, George A 1843 

Calhoun, John 1835 

Campbell, John 1837 

Chambers, John < 1035 

Chilton, Thomas j ^^'^.^ 

Christie, Henry 1809 

Clark, James \ j go j^ 

( 1811 
Clay, Henry S.1815 

( li<23 

Coleman, Nicholas D 1829 

Daniel, Henry 1827 

Davis, Amos 1833 

Davis, Garret 1839 

Davis, Thomas T 1797 

Desha, Joseph .•• 1807 

Duval William P 1813 

Fletcher, Thomas 1816 

Fowler, John 1797 

^ ^ r.- u ^ S 1835 

French, Richard < j g^3 

Gaither, Nathan 1829 

Graves, William J 1835 

Green, Willis 1839 

Greenup, Christopher 1792 

Grider, Henry 1 843 

C 1815 
Hardm, Benjamin < 1819 

i 1833 

Harlan, James 1 835 

Hawes, Albert G 1831 



To 
'95 
'17 
'29 
'20 
180J 
'47 
'13 
'31 
'19 
'25 
'10 
'15 



'33 
'37 
'21 
'41 
'43 
'11 
'35 
'07 
'47 
'37 
'47 
'23 
'23 
'29 
'21 
'43 
'45 
'39 
'38 
'29 
'39 
'31 
'35 
'11 
'16 
'31 
'14 
'21 
'25 
'31 
'33 
'35 
'47 

1803 
'19 
'15 
'17 

1807 
'37 
'45 
'33 
'41 
'45 
'97 
'47 
'17 
'23 
'37 
'39 
'37 



Hawes, Richard 

Hawkins, Joseph W. . . 

Henry, Robert P 

Hopkins, Samuel 

Howard, Benjamin 

Jolinson, Francis 

Johnson, James 

Johnson, John T 

Johnson, Richard M. . . ■ 

Kincaid, John 

Lecompte, Joseph 

Letcher, Robert P.". . . . 

Love, James 

Lyon, Chittenden 

Lyon, Matthew 

Marshall, Thomas A . . . 
Marshall, Thomas F. . . 

Martin, John P 

M'Hatton, Robert 

M'Henry, John H 

M'Kee, Samuel 

M'Lean, Alney 

Menifee, Richard H.. . . 
Metcalfe, Thomas 

Montgomery, Thomas. . 

Moore, Thomas P 

Murray, John L 

New, Anthony 

Ormsby, Stephen 

Orr, Alexander D 

Owsley, Bryan Y 

Pope, John 

Pope, P. H 

Quarles, Tunstall 

Robertson, George C. 

Rowan, John 

Rumsey, Edward 

Sanford, Thomas 

Sharpe, Solomon P 

Smith, John S 

Souihgate, William W. . 

Speed, Thomas 

Sprigg, James C 

Slone, James 

Taul, Micah 

Tibbatts, John W 

Thomasson, William P. 
Thompson, John B.... 

Thompson, Philip 

Tompkins, Christopher. 

Trimble, David 

Triplett, Philip 

Trumbo, Andrew 

Underwood, Joseph R. . 

Walker, David 

Walton, Matthew 

White, David 

White, John 



622 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



From 

Wickliffe, Charles A 1S23, 

Williams, Sherrod 1835, 

Woodson, Samuel H 1820, 

Yancey, Joel 1827, 

Young, William F 1825, 

Young, Bryan R 1845, 

Ohio.— 1803. 

Senators. 

Allen, William 1837, 

Brown, Ethan A 1822, 

Burnett, Jacob 1828, 

Campbell, Alexander 1809, 

Corwin, Thomas 1845, 

Ewing, Thomas 183 1, 

Griswold, S 1809, 

Harrison, William Henry 1825, 

Kerr, Joseph 1814, 

Meigs," Return J 1808, 

Morris, Thomas 1833, 

Morrow, Jeremiah 1813, 

Ruggles, Benjamin 1815, 

Smith, John 1803, 

Tajjpan, Benjamin 1839, 

Tiffin, Edward 1807, 

Trimble, William A 1819, 

Worthington, Thomas \ jg j^' 

Representatives. 

Alexander, John 1813 

Alexander, J., jr 1837 

Allen, William 1833 

Allen, John W 1837 

Andrews, S. J 1841 

( 1817 



Barber, Levi. 



1821 



Bartley, Mordecai 1823 

Beall, Rezin 1813 

Beecher, Philemon > 18''3 

Bell, James M 1833 

Bond, William K 1835 

Brinkerhoff, Henry R 1843 

Brinkerhoff, Jacob 1843 

Brush, Henry 1819 

Caldwell, James 1813 

Campbell, John W 1817 

Chambers, David 1821 

Chaney, John 1833 

Clendenen, David 1815 

Coffin, Charles G 1838 

Cooke, Eleutheros 1831 

Corwin, Thomas 1831 

Cowen, Benjamin S , 1841 

Crane, Joseph H 1829 

< 1815 



Creighton, William. 



1827 



Cummins, John D 1845 

Cunningham, Francis A 1845 

Davenport, John 1827 

Dean, Ezra 1841 



To 
'33 
'41 
'23 
'31 
'27 
'47 



'49 
'25 
'31 
'13 
'51 
'37 
'09 
'28 
'15 
'10 
'39 
'19 
'33 
'08 
'45 
'09 
'22 
'07 
'14 



'17 
'39 
'35 
'41 
'43 
'19 
'23 
'31 
'15 
'21 
'29 
'35 
'41 
'44 
'47 
'21 
'17 
'27 
'23 
'39 
'17 
'39 
'33 
'40 
'43 
'37 
'17 
'33 
'47 
'47 
'29 
'45 



From 

Delano, Columbus 1845, 

Dean, Ezra 1841, 

Doane, William 1839, 

Duncan, Alexander \ isj-j' 

Faran, James J 1845, 

Findlay, James 1825, 

Florence, Elias 1843, 

Fries, George 1845, 

Gazley, James W 1823, 

Giddings, Joshua R 1839, 

Goode, Patrick G 1837, 

Goodenow, John M 1829, 

Hamer, Thomas L 1833, 

Hamlin, Edward S 1844, 

Harper, Alexander > 1843' 

Harrison, William Henry 1816, 

Hastings, John 1839, 

Herrick, Samuel 1817, 

Hitchcock, Peter 1817, 

Howell, Elias 1835, 

Hunter, William H 1837, 

Irvin, William W 1829, 

Jennings, David 1825, 

Johnson, Perley B 1843, 

Jones, Benjamin 1 833, 

Kennon, William \ jg^^' 

Kilborn, James 1813, 

Kilgore, Daniel 1835, 

Leavitt, Humphrey H 1831, 

Leadbetter, D. P 1837, 

Loomis, A 1837, 

Lytle, Robert T 1833, 

Mason, Samson 1835, 

Mathiot, Joshua 1841, 

Matthews, James 1841, 

M'Arthur, Duncan 1823, 

M'Causlen, William C 1843, 

M'Dowell, Joseph J 1843, 

M'Lean, John 1813, 

M'Lean, William 1823, 

M'Lene, Jeremiah 1833, 

Medill, William 1839, 

Mitchell, Robert 1833, 

Moore, Heman A 1843, 

Morris, Calvary 1837, 

Morris, Joseph 1843, 

C 1803 
Morrow, Jeremiah < i84l' 

Muhlenberg, Francis 1828, 

Parish, Isaac < 1845' 

Patterson, John 1823, 

Patterson, William 1833, 

Pendleton, N. G 1841, 

Pcrrill, Augustus L 1845, 

Potter, Emery D 1843, 

Ridge way, Joseph 1837, 

Root, Joseph M 1845, 

Ross, Thomas R 1819, 

Russell, William \ l84l' 



SENATORS AND RETRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



G23 



Sawj'er, William. . . 
Schenclc, Robert C. 
Sliannon, Thomas. 
Shepier, Matthias.. 
Shields, James. • . • 

Sloane, John 

Sloane, Jonathan. . 
Spangler, David ■ . . • 
Stanberry, William 

Starkweather, D. A 

St. John, Henry. . . 
Stokeley, Samuel. . 
Storer, Bellamy.. . . 
Stone, Alfred P... 
Swearingen, Henry 
Sweeney, George . . 
Taylor, Jonathan.. 

Thompson, John. . . 

Thurman, Allen G. 
Tilden, Daniel R.. 

Vance, Joseph.... 

Van Metre, John J 

Vinton, Samuel F. . 

Webster, Taylor.. . 
Weller, John B.... 
Whittlesey, Elisha. 
Wilson, William.. 

Woods, John 

Wright, Jolti C... 



Indiana. — 1816. 
Senators. 

Bright, Jesse D 1845, 

Hanna, Robert 1831, 

Hannegan, Edward A 1843, 

Hendricks, William 1825, 

Noble, James 1816, 

Smith, Oliver H 1837, 

Taylor, Waller 1816, 

Tipton, John 1832, 

White, Albert S 1839, 

Representatives. 

Blake, Thomas H 1827, 

Boone, RatlilT < 18''9' 

Brown, William J 1843^ 

Call, Jacob 1824, 

Ca">John I {gg^^ 

Cathcart, Charles W 184.5, 

Cravens, James H 1841, 

C 1835, 
Davi3,John W < 1839, 

t 1843, 

Dunn, George H 1837, 

^ . - , < 1833, 

Ewing, John < Ig27 



From 


To 


1845, 


'47 


1843, 


'47 


1826, 


'27 


1837, 


'39 


1829 


'31 


1819, 


'29 


1«33, 


'37 


1833 


'37 


1827, 


'33 


1839, 


'41 


1845, 


'47 


1843 


'47 


1841 


'43 


1835 


'37 


1844 


'45 


1839 


'41 


1839 


'43 


1839 


'41 


1825 


'27 


1829 


'37 


1845 


'47 


1843 


'47 


1821 


'35 


1843 


'47 


1843 


'45 


1823 


'37 


1843 


'47 


1833 


'39 


1839 


'45 


1823 


'39 


1823 


'27 


.1825 


'29 


1823 


'29 



From To 

Graham, William 1837, '39 

Hannegan, Edward A 1833, '37 

Hendricks, William 1816, '22 

Henley, Thomas J 1843, '47 

Herod, William 1837, '39 

Howard, Tilghman A 1839, '40 

Jennings, Jonathan 1822, '31 

Kennedy, Andrew 1841, '47 

Kinnard, George L 1833, '37 

Lane, Amos 1833, '37 

Lane, Henry S 1841, '43 

M'Carty, Jonathan 1831, '37 

M'Gaughey, Edward W 1845, '47 

Owen, Robert Dale 1843, '47 

Pettit, John 1843, '47 

Prince, William 1823, '24 

Proffit, George H 1839, '43 

Rariden, James 1837, '41 

Sample, Samuel C 1843, '45 

Smith, Oliver H 1827, '29 

Smith, Caleb B 1843, '47 

c uu rru () 1839, '41 

Smith, Thomas < i g^o -47 

rr . T 1, <> 1823', '27 

lest, John > ]829 '31 

Thompson , Robert W 1 84 1 ^ '43 

Wallace, David 1841, '43 

White, Albert S 1837, '39 

White, Joseph L 1841, '43 

Wick, William W J Jg^?' ',^7 

Wright, Joseph A 1843,' '45 

Illinois. — 1818. 
Senators. 

Baker, David J 1830, '31 

Breese, Sidney 1843, '49 

Edwards, Ninian 1818, '24 

Ewing, William L. D 1836, '37 

Kane,Elias K 1825, '36 

Tv/r.T T V, ^ 1*^24, '25 

M'Lean, John j jggg' '30 

M'Roberts, Samuel 1841, '43 

Robinson, John M 1831, '41 

Semple, James 1843, '47 

Thomas, Jesse B 1818, '29 

Young, Richard M 1837, '43 

Representatives. 

Baker, Edward D 1845, '47 

Casey, Zadock 1833, '43 

Cooke, Daniel B 1819, '27 

Douglass, Stephen A 1843, '47 

Duncan, Joseph 1827, '35 

Ficklin, Oriando B 1843, '47 

Hardin, John J 1843, '45 

Hoge, Joseph P 1843, '47 

May, William L 1835, '39 

M'Lean, John 1818, '19 

M'Cleonand, John A 1 843, '47 

Tj ij T V S 183.5, '37 

Keynolds, John > 1839 '43 



G24 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



From 

Siade, Charles 1833, 

Smith, Robert 1843, 

Snyder, A. W 1837, 

Stuart, John T 1839, 

Wentworth, John 1843, 

Missouri. — 1821. 
Senators. 

Atchison, David R 1843, 

Barton, David 1821, 

Benton, Thomas H 1821, 

Bucknor, Alexander 1831, 

Linn, Lewis F 1834, 

Representatives. 

Ashley, William H 1831, 

Bates, Edward 1827, 

Bower, Gustavus B 1843, 

Bowlin, James B 1843, 

Bull, John 1833, 

Edwards, John C 1841, 

Harrison, Albert G 1835, 

Hughes, James M 1843, 

T T u ^ 1840, 

Jameson, John < i84q 

Miller, John 1837*, 

Pettis, Spencer 1829, 

Phelps, John S 1845, 

Price, Sterling 1845, 

Relfe, James H 1843, 

Scott, John 1821, 

Sims, Leonard H 1845, 

Michigan,— 1836. 
Senators. 

Cass, Lewis 1845, 

Lyon, Lucius 1836, 

Norvell, John 1836, 

Porter, Augustus A 1840, 

Woodbridge, William 1841, 

Representatives. 

Chipman, John S 1845, 

Crary, Isaac E 1836, 

Howard, Jacob M 1841, 

Hunt, James B 1843, 

Lyon, Lucius 1843, 

M'Clelland, Robert 1843, 

Florida.— 1845. 

Senators. 

Ynlee [Levy], David 1845, 

Westcott, James T 1845, 

Representatives. 
Cabell, Edward C. (rejected) . . 1845, 
Brockenbrough, W. H 1845, 

Texas.— 1845. 
Senators. 

Houston. Samuel 1846, 

Rusk, Thomas J 1846, 



To 

'34 
'47 
'39 
'43 

'47 



'49 
'31 
'51 
'33 
'43 



Prom To 
Representatives. 

Kauffman, David S 1846, '47 

Pilsbury, Timothy 1846, '47 

DELEGATES FROM TERRITORIES. 

Northwest Territory (0/iio, <S-c.), 

Fearing, Paul 1801, '03 

Harrison, William Henry 1799, 1800 

Southwest Territory (Tennessee) 

White, James 1792, '94 

Indiana. 

Jennings, Jonathan 1809, '16 

Parke, Benjamin 1805, '08 

Thomas, Jesse B 1808, '09 

Orleans (Louisiana). 

Clarke, Daniel 1806, '09 

Poydras, Julian 1809 '12 

Mississippi. 

Greene, Thomas M 1 802, '03 

Hunter, Norsworthy 1801, '02 

Lattimore, William < isn' '17 

Poindexter, George 1807^ '13 

./Alabama. 

Crowell, John 1817, '19 

Illinois. 

Bond, Shadrach 1811, '15 

Pope, Nathaniel 1816, '18 

Stephenson, Benjamin 1815, '16 

Missouri. 

Easton, Rufus 1814, '16 

Hamsted, Edward 1811, '14 

Scott, John 1816, '21 . 

Michigayi. 

Biddle, John IS29, '31 

Jones, George W 1835, '36 

Lyon, Lucius 1833, '35 

Richard, Gabriel 1823, '25 

Sibley, Solomon 1 820, '23 

w A ,■ r' ^ 1825, '29 

Wing, Austin E > 183] '*?? 

Woodbridge, William 1819', '20 

jdrkansas. 

Bates, James W 1820, '23 

Conway, Henry W 1 823, '29 

Sevier. Ambrose H 1829, '36 

Florida. 

Call, Richard K 1 823, '25 

Downing, Charles 1837, '41 

Hernandez, Joseph M 1 822, '23 

Levy, David 1841, '45 

White, Joseph M 1825, '37 

Wisconsin. 

Dodge, Henry 1841, '45 

Doiy, James D 1839, '41 

Jones, George W 1837, '39 

Martin, Morgan L 1845, '47 

Iowa. 

Chapman, William W 1839, '41 

Dodge, Augustus C 1841, '47 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



62-5 



MEMBERS OF THE THIRTIETH CONGRESS. 



Matnk. 
John Faii-KeKl,* 
Wyman B. S. Moore,t 
Hannibal Hamlin, 
James W. Bradbury. 

New Hampshire. 
Charles G. Athertou, 
John P. Hale. 

Vermont. 
William Upbam, 
Samuel S. Phelps. 

Massachusetts. 
Daniel Webster, 
John Davis. 

Rhode Island. 
Albert C. Greene, 
John H. Clarke. 

CONNECTTCUT. 

Jahez W. Huntington,* 
John M. Niles, 
Roger S. Baldwin. 

New York. 
John A. Dix, 
Daniel S. Dickinson. 

New Jersey. 
■William L. Dayton, 
Jacob W. Miller. 

Pennsylvania. 
Simon Cameron, 
Daniel Sturgeon. 

Delaware. 
John M. Clayton,! 
Presley Spruauce. 
John Wales. 



SENATE. 

Maryland. 
James A. Pearce, 
Reverdy Johnson. 

Virginia^ 
James M. Mason, 
Robert M. T. Hunter. 

North Carolina. 
George E. Badger, 
Willie P. Mangum. 

South Carolina. 
A. P. Butler, 
John C. Calhoun. 

Georgia. 
Walter T. Colquitt,^ 
Herscbel V. Jobixson, 
John M. Berrien. 

Florida. 
James D. Westcott, Jr., 
David Levy Yulee. 

Alabama. 
Arthur P. Bagby,| 
Wm. R. King, 
Dixon H. Lewis,* 
Benjamin Fitzpatrick. 

Mississippi. 
Jesse Speight,* 
Jefferson Davis, 
Henry S. Foote. 

Louisiana. 
Henry Johnson, 
Solomon U. Downs. 

Tennessee. 
Hopkins L. Turney. 
John Bell. 



Kentucky. 
John J. Crittenden,t 
Thomas Metcalf, 
Joseph R. Underwood 

Ohio. 

William Allen, 
Thomas Corwin. 

Michigan. 
Lewis Cass,t 
Thomas Fitzgerald.t 
Alpheus Felch. 

Indiana. 
Edward A. Hannegan 
Jesse D. Bright. 

Illinois. 

Sidney Breese, 
Stephen A. Douglass. 

Missouri. 
David R. Atchison, 
Thomas H. Benton. 

Arkansas. 
Ambrose H. Sevier,t 
Solon Borland, 
Chester Ashley,* 
Wm. K. Sebastian. 

Texas. 
Thomas J. Rusk, 
Samuel Houston. 

Iowa. 
Augustus C. Dodge, 
George W. Jones. 

Wisconsin. 
Henry Dodge, 
Isaac P. Walker. 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 
Robert Charles Winthrop, of Massachusetts, Speaker. 



Maine. 

3. Belcher, Hiram, 

2. Clapp, Asa W. H., 

4. Clark, Franklin, 

1. Hammons, David, 

5. Smart, Eph. K., 

6. W^iley, Jnmes S., 

7. Williams, Hezekiah. 

New Hampshire. 
4. Johnson, .lames H.. 

2. Peaslee, Charles H., 

1. Tuck, Amos, 

3. Wilson, James. 

V 

Vermont. 

2. Collamer, Jacob, 
1. Henry, William, 

3. Marsh, George P., 

4. Peck, Lucius B., 



> Died. 



40 



Massachusetts. 

3. Abbott, Amos, 

6. Ashmun, George, 
10. Grinnell, Joseph, 

9. Hale, Artemas, 
5. Hudson, Charles, 
2. King, Daniel P., 
8. Mann, Horace, 

4. Palfrey, John G., 

7. Rockwell, Julius, 
1. Winthrop, Robert C. 

Rhode Island. 

1. Cranston, R. B., 

2. Thurston, Benj. B. 

Connecticut. 

1. Dixon, James, 

2. Hubbard, S. D., 

3. Rockwell, John A., 

4. Smith, Truman. 

t Appointed by governor to fill vacancy. 



New York. 

22. Birdsall, Auburn, 

27. Blaokmar, Esbon, 

18. Collins, William, 

25. Conger, Harmon S., 

23. Duer, William, 

24. Gott, Daniel, 

6. Greeley, Horace, 
32. Hall, Nathan K., 

28. Holmes, Elias B., 
34. Hunt, Washington, 
20. Jenkins, Timothy, 

14. Kellogg, O. D., 

15. Lawrence, Sidney, 

26. Lawrence, W. T., 

1. Lord, Fred. W., 
4. Maclay, Wm. B., 

31. Marvin, Dudley, 

19. Mullin, Joseph, 

2. Murphy, Henry C, 

7. Nelson, William, 

X Resigned. 



626 



SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 



Nicoll, Henry, 
Petrie, George> 
Putnam, Harvey, 
Reynolds, Gideon, 
Rose, Robert L., 
Rumsey, David, 
Sherrill, Eliakira, 
Slingerland, J. J , 
Starkweather, G. A 
St. John, D. B., 
Sylvester, Peter H., 
Tallmadge, F. A., 
\Varren, Cornelius, 
White, Hugh, 

New Jerset. 
Edsall, Joseph E., 
Gregory, Dudley S., 
Hampton, James G., 
Newell, Wm. A., 
Van Dyke, John. 
Pennsylvania. 
Blanchard, John, ' 
Brady, Jasper E., 
Bridges, Samuel A., 
Brodhead, R., 
Brown, Charles, 
Butler, Chester, 
Dickey, John, 
Eckert, George N., 
Farrelly, John W., 
Freedley, John W., 
Hampton, Moses, 
Ingersoll, Charles J., 
Ingersoll, Joseph R., 
Ir\'in, Alexander, 
Levin, Lewis C, 
Maun, Job, 
M'llvaine, A. R., 
Nes, Henry, 
Pollock, James, 
Stewart, Andrew, 
Strohra, John, 
Strong, William, 
Thompson, James, 
Wilmot, David. 

Delaware. 
Houston, John W., 

Maryland. 
Chapman, John G., 
Christield, John W., 
Evans, Alexander, 
Ligon, Thomas W., 
M'Lane, Robert M., 
Roman, James D., 



North Carolina 
Barriuger, D. M., 
Boydon, Nathaniel, 
Clingman, T. M., 
Daniel, J. R. J., 
Donnell, R. S., 
M'Kay, James J., 
Outlaw, David, 
Shepperd, A. H., 
Veuable, A. W., 

South Carolina. 
Burt, Amistead, 
Holmes, Isaac E., 
Rhett, R. B., 
Simpson, R. F., 
M'Queen, John, 
Wallace, Daniel, 
Woodward, J. A., 



1. 
7. 
8. 
6. 
9. 
4. 
5. 

5. 
6. 
7. 
2. 
4. 
1, 
3. 

Georgia. 

6. Cobb, Howell, 

4. Haralson, H. A., 

2. Iverson, Alfred, 

3. Jones, John W., 
1. King, Thomas B., 

5. Lumpkin, J. H., 

7. Stephens, A. H., 

8. Toombs, Robert. 

Alabama. 

7. Bowdon, F. W., 

6. Cobb, W. R. W., 

1. Gayle, John, 

3. Han-is, S. W., 

2. HiUiard, H. W., 

5. Houston, George 8., 

4. Inge, Samuel W., 

Mississippi. 
4. Brown, Albert Q., 

2. Feathcrston, "W. S., 
1. Thompson, Jacob, 

3. Tompkins, P. W., 

Louisiana. 

3. Hamianson, J. H., 

1. La Sere, Emili, 

4. Morse, Isaac E., 

2. Thibodeaux, B. G., 

Tennessee. 

8. Barrow, Washingtqn, 

9. Chase, Lucien B., 

2. Cocke, William M.; 

3. Crozier, John H., 

7. Gentry, Meredith P., 
U. Haskell, William T., 

4. Hill, H. L. W., 
1. Johnson, Andrew, 

5. Jones, George W., 
10. Stanton, Frederick P., 

6. Thomas, James H., 

Kentucky. 

6. Adams, Green, 

1. Boyd, Linn, 

4. Buckner, Avlett, 
3. Clark, Beverly L., 

7. Duncan, Garnett, 
9. French, B.ichard, 

10. Gaines, John P., 

8. Morehead, C. S., 

2. Peyton, Samuel O., 

5. Thompson, J. B., 



Virginia. 

1. Atkinson, Archibald, 

7. Bayly, Thomas H., 

8. Beale, R. T. L., 

10. Bedinger. Henry, 

4. Bocock, Thomas S., 
6. Botts, John M., 

15. Brown, William G., 
3. Floumoy, Thomas S., 

13. Fulton, Andrew 8., 

5. Goggin, William L., 

11. M'Dowell, James, 

2. Meade, Richard K., 

9. Pendleton, J. S., 

12. Preston William B., 

14. Thompson, R. A. 

John Qviincy Adams, of Mass., John M. Holley, of N. Y., .lames A. Black and A. D. Sims, of S. C, 
and John \V. Horiibeck, of Penn., members of the hou.se, died during tlxis Congress. 



Ohio. 

4-. Canby, Richard S., 

19. Crowell, John, 

16. Cummins, J. D., 

6. Dickinson, R., 

10. Duncan, Daniel, 

9. Edwards, Thomas O., 

14. Evans, Nathan, 

1. Faran, James J., 

2. Fisher, David, 

17. Fries, George, 

20. Giddiugs, Joshua R., 

15. Kennon, William, jr., 

18. Lahm, Samuel, 

11. Miller, ,Tohn K., 

7. Morris, Jonathan D., 
13. Richey, Thomas, 

21. Root, Joseph M., 

5. Sawyer, William, 

3. Scheuck, Robert C., 

8. Taylor, John L., 

12. Vinton, Samuel F., 

Michigan. 
3. Bingham, K. S., 

1. M'Clelland, Robert, 

2. Stuart, Charles E., 

Inbiana. 

9. Cathcart, C W., 

6. Dunn, George G., 

1. Embree, Elisha, 

2. Henley, T. J., 
8. Pettit, John, 

3. Robinson, J. L., 
10. Rockhill, William, 

4. Smith, Caleb B., 

7. Thompson, R. W., 

5. Wick, William W. 

Illinois. 

3. Ficklin, O. B., 

7. Lincoln, Abraham, 

2. M'Clemand, J. A., 

5. Richardson, W. A., 
1. Smith, Robert, 

6. Turner, Thomas J , 

4. W entwortli, John. 

Missouri. 

1. Bowlin, James B., 

3. Greene, James S., 

5. Hall, Willard P., 

2. Jamieson, John, 

4. Phelps, John 8. 

Arkansas. 
1. Johnson, Robert W., 

Florida. 
1. Cabell, Edward C, 

Texas. 

1. Kaufman, David S., 

2. Pillsbury, Timothy. 

Iowa. 
2. LefHer, Shepherd, 
1. Thompson, William, 

Wisconsin. 
1. Darling, Mason C, 
2: Lynde, William Pitt. 



SESSIONS OF CONGRESS. 



627 



SESSIONS OF CONGRESS. 

Table showrng the Commencement, Close, and Duration of each Session of Congress, the 
Number of Acts and Resolutions passed, and of Bills vetoed or retained by the Executive, 
and the bpeakers of the House of Representatives. [From the American Almanac] 



V 


c 


Session. 











to 


o 














m '^ 





Speakers. 


o 


* 


Commenced. 


Terminated. 


M 


JJ 






O 


(/] 












210 


■< 0. 


> 




( 


1 


Marcli 4, 


1789 


Sept. 29, 


1789 


29 








\\ 


2 


Jan'y 4. 


1790 


Aug. 12, 


1790 


221 


49 






F. A. Muhlenberg, 


I 


3 


Dec. 


6, 


1790 


March 3, 


1791 


88 


29 




! 


Penn. 


^\ 


1 
2 


Oct. 

Nov. 


24, 
5, 


1791 

1792 


May 8, 
Mar. 2, 


1792 
1793 


198 

118 


45 
32 


1' 


; 


Jon. Trumbull, Ct. 




1 


Dec. 


2, 


1793 


June 9, 


1794 


190 


60 








3 \ 


2 


Nov. 


3, 


1794 


Mar. 3, 


1795 


121 


53 






F. A. Muhlenberg. 


( 


1 


Dec. 


7, 


1795 


June 1, 


1796 


178 


55 




: 




4 } 


2 


Dec. 


5, 


1796 


Mar. 3, 


1797 


89 


30 


1 


Jona. Dayton, N.J. 


( 


1 


May 


15, 


1797 


July 10, 


1797 . 


57 


17 








A 


2 


Nov. 


13, 


1797 


July 16, 


1798 


246 


90 






Jona. Dayton. 


\ 


3 


Dec. 


3, 


1798 


Mar. 3, 


1799 


91 


49 




> 




'\ 


1 


Dec. 


2 


1799 


May 14, 


1800 


165 


76 




> 




2 


Nov. 


iv! 


1800 


Mar. 3, 


1801 


107 


36 




: 


T. Sedgwick, Mass. 


7 j 


1 

o 


Dec. 
Dec. 


7, 
6, 


1801 
1802 


May 3, 
Mar. 3, 


1802 
1803 


148 
88 


55 
40 






Nath. Macon, N. C. 


( 


1 


Oct. 


17, 


1803 


Mar. 27, 


1804 


163 


62 








8j 


2 


Nov. 


5, 


1804 


Mar. 3, 


1805 


119 


46 






Natk Macon. 


( 


1 


Deo. 


2, 


1805 


Apr. 21, 


1806 


141 


46 








9 i 


2 


Dec. 


1, 


1806 


Mar. 3, 


1807 


S3 


49 






Nath. Macon. 


\ 


1 


Oct. 


26, 


1807 


Apr. 25, 


1808 


183 


68 








2 


Nov. 


7, 


1808 


Mar. 3, 


1809 


117 


37 






J. B. Vamnm, Mass. 


C 


1 


May 


22 


1809 


June 28, 


1809 


38 


17 


• 






"? 


2 


Nov. 


27', 


1809 


May 1, 


1810 


156 


51 






J. B. Vamum, 


I 


3 


Dec. 


3, 


1810 


Mar. 3, 


1811 


91 


45 


2J 






..j 


1 
2 


Nov. 
Nov. 


4, 
2, 


1811 
1812 


July 6, 
Mar. 3, 


1812 
1813 


246 
122 


142 
66 


1 




Henry Clay, Ky. 


13^ 


1 


May 


24, 


1813 


Aug. 2, 


1813 


71 


59 


" 




Henry Clay. 


2 


Dec. 


6. 


1813 


Apr. 18, 


1814 


134 


99 


I 




Lang. Cheves, S. C. 


( 


3 


Sept. 


19, 


1814 


Mar. 3, 


1815 


166 


113 


ij 






") 


1 


Dec. 


4, 


1815 


Apr. 30, 


1816 


149 


181 








2 


Dec. 


2 


1816 


Mar. 3, 


1817 


92 


117 






Henry Clay. 


15 j 


1 


Dec. 


1'. 


1817 


Apr. 20, 


1818 


151 


142 


« 






2 


Nov. 


16, 


1818 


Mar. 3, 


1819 


108 


114 


1 




Henry Clay. 


■ej 


1 


Dec. 


6, 


1819 


May 15, 


1820 


162 


143 


■ 




Henry Clay. 


2 


Nov 


13, 


1820 


Mar. 3, 


1821 


111 


65 






J. W. Taylor, N.Y. 


17 j 


1 

2 


Dec. 
Dec. 


3, 

2, 


1821 
1822 


May 8, 
Mar. .3, 


1822 
1823 


157 
92 


133 

106 


' 




P. P. Barbour, Va. 


( 


1 


Dec. 


1, 


1823 


May 27, 


1824 


179 


212 


< 






18? 


2 


Dec. 


<>, 


1824 


Mar. 3, 


1825 


88 


124 






Henry Clay. 


19 j 


1 
2 


Dec. 
Dec. 


5, 
4, 


1825 
1826 


May 22, 
Mar. 3, 


1826 
1827 


169 
90 


162 
103 


> 




John W. Taylor. 


( 


1 


Dec. 


3, 


1827 


May 26, 


1828 


176 


158 


' 






20 j 


2 


Dec. 


1, 


1828 


Mar. 3, 


1829 


93 


67 


! 




A. Stevenson, Va. 


21 


1 
2 


Dec. 
Dec. 


7, 
6, 


1829 
1830 


May 31, 
Mar. 3, 


1830 
1831 


176 

88 


243 

126 


4 




A. Stevenson. • 


22 j 


1 
2 


Dec. 
Dec. 


5, 
3, 


1831 
1632 


July 14, 
Mar. 3, 


1832 
1833 


223 
91 


311 
147 


3 

1 




A. Stevenson. 


23 j 


1 


Dec. 


2, 


1833 


Juno 30, 


1834 


2U 


277 


1 > 




A. Stevenson. 


2 


Dec. 


1, 


1834 


Mar, 3, 


1825 


93 


113 






John Bell, Tenn. 


24 j 


1 
2 


Dec. 
Dec. 


7, 
5, 


1835 
1836 


July 4, 
Mar. 3, 


1836 
1837 


211 
89 


377 
81 


1 




Jas. K. Polk, Tenn. 


c 


1 


Sept. 


4, 


1837 


Oct. 16, 


1837 


43 


11 


■ 






25) 


2 


Dec. 


4, 


1837 


July 9, 


1838 


218 


277 


' 




James K. Polk. 


( 


3 


Dec. 


3, 


1838 


Mar. 3, 


1839 


91 


249 


' 






26 j 


1 
2 


Dec. 
Dec. 


7, 


1839 
1840 


July, 21, 
Mar. 3, 


1840 
1841 


233 

87 


106 
41 






R.M.T. Hunter, Va. 


c 


1 


May 


31, 


1841 


Sept. 13, 


1841 


106 


30 


3) 






27) 


2 


Dec. 


6, 


1841 


Aug. 31, 


1842 


269 


299 


4, 




John White, Ken. 


\ 


3 


Dec. 


5, 


1842 


Mar. 3, 


1843 


89 


186 


: 






=8) 


1 


Dec. 
Dec. 


4, 


1843 
1844 


June 17, 
Mar. 3, 


1844 
1845 


196 
91 


188 
93 


2! 




John W. Jones, Va. 


29^ 


li 


Dec. 
Dec. 


1,' 
7, 


1845 
18-i6 


Aug. 10, 
Mar. 3, 


1846 
1847 


253 

87 


185 
124 


2( 




John W. Davis, Ind. 



628 VOTES FOR PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS, FROM 1789 TO 1845. 



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630 VOTES FOR PRESIDENTS AND VICE-PRESIDENTS, FROM 1789 TO 1845. 



RECAPITULATION AND REMARKS. 

1st Term, 1789. Electors 69, and 69 votes for G, Waslnns:ton. J. Adams had 34 ; 
John Jay (IST. J. 5, Del. 3, Va. 1) 9 ; R, H. Harrison (Md. 6) 6; J. Riitled?e (S. C, 
6) 6; J. Hancrck (Pa. 2, Va. 1, S. C. 1) 4; G. Clinton (Va. 3) 3 ; S. Huntinston 
(Ct. 2) 2; John Milton (Ga. 2) 2 ; J. Armstrong (Ga. 1) 1 ; Ed. Telfair (Ga. 1) 1 ; 

B. Lincoln (Ga. 1) 1 — total 69. Rhode Island, New York, and North Carolina, did 
not assent to the constitution in season to vote for president in 1789. 

2d, 1793. Electors 135. 132 votes for G. Washin^^ton, and 3 (Md. 2, S. C. 1) 
vacancies. J. Adams received 77 votes; G. Clinton 50; Th. Jefferson (Ky. 4) 4; 
A. Burr (S. C. 1) 1— total 132. 

3d, 1797. Electors 138. J. Adams received 71 votes; Th. Jefferson 68; Th. 
Pinckney 59; A. Burr 30 ; S. Adams (Va. 15) 25; 01. Ellsworth (N. H. 6, Mass. 1, 
R. I. 4) 11 ; G. Clinton (Va. 3, Ga. 4) 7 ; John Jay (Ct. 5) 5 ; James Iredel (N. C. 
3) 3; G. Washington (Va. 1, N. C. 1) 2 ; J. Henry (Md. 2) 2; S. Johnson (Mass. 
2) 2; Ch. C. Pinckney (N. C. 1) 1. 

4th, 1801. Electors 138. Th. Jefferson received 73 votes; A. Burr 73; J. 
Adams 65; Ch. C. Pinckney 64 ; John Jay (R. I. 1) 1. The election was carried to 
the house of representatives, and Mr. Jefferson was, on the 36th ballot, chosen pres- 
ident by the votes of N. Y., N. J., Pa., Md., Va., N. C, Ga., Tenn., and Ky. ; and 
Mr. Burr, vice-president. After this the constitution was altered, so as to require 
the president and vice-president to be separately voted for. 

5th, 1805. For a full view of the votes see table. 

6th, 1809. For President : J. Madison 122 votes ; Ch. C. Pinckney 47 ; G. Clin- 
ton (N. Y. 6)6; vacancy (Ky.)— total 176. For Vice-President: G. Clinton 113 
votes ; Rufus Kin? 47 ; J. Langdon (Vt. 6, Ohio 3)9; J. Madison (N. Y. 3) 3 ; J. 
Monroe (N. Y. 3) 3 ; 1 vacancy (Ky.)— total 176. 

7th. 1813. See table. One vacancy in Ohio. 

8th, 1817. For President : J. Monroe 183 votes; Rufus King 31; 4 vacancies 
(Del. 1, Md. 3) 4 — total 221. For Vice-President : Daniel D. Tompkins 183 votes ; 
John E. Howard (Mass. 22) 22; James Ross (Ct. 5) 5 ; J. Marshall (Ct. 5) 5; R. 
G. Harper (Del. 3) 3 ; 4 vacancies (Del. 1, Md. 3)— total 221. 

9th, 1821. For President : J. Monroe, 231 ; J. Q. Adams (Mass. 1) 1— total 232. 
For Vice-President : D. D. Tompkins 218; R. Stockton (Mass. 8) 8; D. Rodney 
(Del. 4) 4 ; R. Rush (N. H. 1) 1 ; R. G. Harper (Md. 1) 1— total 232. 

10th, 1825. For President: A. Jackson 99 votes; J. Q. Adams 84; Wm. H. 
Crawford 41 ; Henry Clay 37 — total 261. Mr. Adams was elected by the house of 
representatives. See table. For Vice-President: J. C. Calhoun 182; N. Sanford 
30 ; N. Macon (Va. 24) 24 ; A. Jackson (N. H. 1, Ct. 8, Md, 1, Mo. 3) 13 ; M. Van 
Buren (Ga. 9) 9; Henry Clay (Del. 2) 2; 1 vacancy (R. I.)— total 261. 

nth, 1829, See table. 

12th, 1833. For President : A. Jackson 219 votes; Henry Clay 49 ; J. Floyd (S. 

C. 11) 11; W. Wirt (Vt. 7) 7; 2 vacancies (Md.)— total 286. For Vice-President : 
M. Van Buren 189; John Serjeant 49; Wm. Wilkins (Pa, 30) 30; Henry Lee (S. 
C. 11) 11 ; Amos Ellmaker (Vt. 7) 7— total 286. 

13th, 1837. For President: M. Van Buren 170; Wm. H. Harrison 73; Hugh 
L. White 26; Daniel Webster 14; W. P. Mangum 11— total 294, For Vice-Pres- 
ident : R. M. Johnson 144 ; Francis Granger 77 ; John Tyler 47 ; Wm. Smith 23— 
total 294. 

14th, 1841. For President : W. H, Harrison 234 ; M. Van Buren 60— total 294. 
For Vice-President: John Tyler 234; R. M, Johnson 48; L. W.Tazewell 11 ; J. 
Polk 1— total 294. 

15th, 1845, For full vote see table. 16th, 1849. Sec table. 



SUCCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIONS FROM 1797 TO 1846. G31 



SUCCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIONS, FROM 1789 TO 1846. 

FIRST ADMINISTRATION— 1789 to 1797.— eight years. 

President : George Washington, Virginia. 

Vice-President : John Adams, Massachuseiis. 

Secretaries of State : Thomas Jefferson, of Va., Sept. 26, 1789 ; Edmund Ran- 
dolph, of Va., Jan. 2, 1794; Timothy Pickering, of Pa., Dec. 10, 1795. 

Secretaries of the Treasury: Alexander Hamilton, of New York, Sept. 11, 
1789; Oliver Wolcott, of Conn., Feb. 3, 1795. 

Secretaries of War : Henry Knox, of Mass., Sept. 12, 1789 ; Timothy Picker- 
ing, of Mass., Jan. 2, 1795; James M'Henry, of Md., Jan. 27. 1796. 

Secretaries of the Navy : No navy department during this administration. 

Postmasters-General : Samuel Osgood, of Mass., Sept. 26, 1789 ; Timothy Pick- 
ering, of Mass., Nov. 7, 1794; Joseph Habersham, of Ga., Feb. 25, 1795. 

Years. Expenditures. Public Debt. Total. 

1789— The expenditures from 4th March, 1789, to 31st December, 1791, are 

1790 included in 1791. 

1791 $1,921,589 52 $5,285,949 50 $7,207,539 02 

1792 1,877,913 68 7,263,655 99 9,141,569 67 

1793 1,710,070 26 5,819,505 29 7,529,575 55 

1794 3,500,546 65 5,801,578 09 9,302,124 74 

1795 4,350,658 04 6,084,411 61 10,435,069 65 

1796 2,531,930 40 5,835,846 44 8,367,776 84 

$15,892,708 55 $36,090,946 92 $51,983,655 47 



SECOND ADMINISTRATION— 1797 to 1801.— four years. 

President : John Adams, Massachusetts. 

Vice-President : Thomas Jefferson, Virginia 

Secretaries of State : Timothy Pickering, continued in office ; John Marshall, 
of Va., May 13, 1800. ' 

Secretaries of the Treasury : Oliver Wolcott continued in office ; S. Dexter, 
of Mass., Dec. 31, 1800. 

Secretaries of War : James M'Henry continued in office ; S. Dexter, of Mass.. 
May 13, 1800; Roger Griswold, of Conn., Feb. 3, 1801. 

Secretaries of the Navy: George Cabot, of Mass., May 3, 1789, declined ; 
Benjamin Stoddart, of Maryland, May 21, 1798. 

Postmaster-General : Joseph Habersham, continued. 

Years. Expenditures. Public Debt. Total. 

1797 $2,833,590 96 $5,792,421 82 $8,626,012 78 

1798 4,623,223 54 3,990,294 14 8,613,517 68 

1799 6,480,166 72 4,596,876 78 11,077,043 50 

1800 7,411,369 97 4,578,369 95 11,989,739 92 



$21,348,351 19 $18,957,962 69 $40,306,313 88 



THIRD ADMINISTRATION— 1801 to 1809.— eight years. 

President : Thomas Jefferson, Virginia. 

Vice-Presidents: Aaron Burr, New York; George Clinton, New York. 

Secretary of State: James Madison, of Virginia, March 5, 1801. 

Secretaries of the Treasury: S. Dexter continued in office; Albert Gallatin, 
of Pa., Jan. 26, 1802. 

Secretary of War : Henry Dearborn, of Mass., March 4, 1801. 

Secretaries of the Navy: Benjamin Stoddart continued in office; Robert 
Smith, of Maryland, Jan. 28, 1802. 



632 



SUCCESSIVE ADKINISTRATIONS, FROM 1797 TO 1846. 



Postmasters-Genekal : Joseph 


Habersham continued 


in office ; Gideon Granger, 


Conn., Jan. 


26, 1802. 






Years. 


Expenditures. 


Public Debt. 


Total. 


1801 


$4,981,669 90 


$7,291,707 04 


$12,273,376 94 


1802 


3,737,079 91 


9,539,004 76 


13,276,084 67 


1803 


4,002,824 24 


7,256,159 43 


11,258,983 67 


1804 


4,452,857 91 


8,171,787 45 


12,624,645 36 


1805 


6,357,234 62 


7,369,889 79 


13,727,124 41 


1806 


6,080,209 36 


8,989,884 61 


15,070,093 97 


1807 


4,984,572 89 


6,307,720 10 


11,292,292 9.9 


1808 


6,50^,338 85 


10,260,245 35 
$65,186,398 53 


16,764,584 20 




$41,100,787 68 


$106,287,186 21 



FOURTH ADMINISTRATION— 1809 to 1817.— eight years. 

President : Jamfs Madison, Virginia. 

Vice-Presidents: George Clinton, Now York; Elbridge Gerry, Mass. 

Secretaries of State: Robert Smith, of Md., 6th March, 1809; James Monroe, 
of Va., Nov. 25, 1811. 

Secretaries of the Treasury: Albert Gallatin continued in office; George W. 
Campbell, of Tenn., Feb. 9, 1814 ; Alexander J. Dallas, of Pa., Oct. 6, 1814. 

Secretaries of War; Wm. Eustis, of Mass., March 7, 1809; John Armstrong, 
of N. Y., Jan. 19, 1813 ; James Monroe, of Va., Sept. 26, 1814; Wm. H. Crawford, 
of Ga., March 2, 1815. 

Secretaries of the Navy: Paul Hamilton, of S. C, March 7, 1809; William 
Jones, of Pa., Jan. 12, 1813 ; Benjamin W. Crowninshield, of Mass., Dec. 19, 1841. 

Postmasters-General: Gideon Granger continued in office; R. J. Meigs, of 
Ohio, March 17, 1814. 



Years 


Expenditures. 


Public Debt. 


Total. 


1809 


$7,414,672 14 


$6,452,554 16 


$13,867,226 3f 


1810 


5,311,082 28 


8,008,904 46 


13,319,986 7- 


1811 


5,592,604 86 


8,009,204 05 


13,601,808 9 


1812 


17,829,498 70 


4,449,622 45 


22,279,121 1 


1813 


28,082,391 92 


11,108,128 44 


39,190,520 3 


1814 


30,127,686 28 


7,900,543 94 


38,028,230 2 


1815 


26,953,571 00 


12,628,922 35 


39,582,493 S 


1816 


23,373,432 58 
$144,684,939 76 


24,871,062 93 
$83,428,942 78 


48,244,495 f 




$228,113,882 .' • 



FIFTH ADMINISTRATION— 1817 to 1825.— eight years. 

President : James Monroe, Virginia, 
Vice-President : Daniel D. Tompkins, New York. 
Secretary of State : John Q. Adams, of Mass., March 3, 1817. 
Secretary of the Treasury : Win. H. Crawford, of Ga., March 5, 1817. 
Secretaries of War: Isaac Shelby, of Ky., March 5, 1817, declined the appoint- 
ment; John C. Calhoun, of S. C, Dec. 16, 1817. 

Secretaries of the Navy: Benjamin W. Crowninshield, continued in office; 
Smith Thompson, of N. Y., Nov. 30, 1818; S. L. Southard, of N. J., Dec. 9, 1823. 

Postmasters-General: Return J. Meigs continued in office; John M'Lean, of 
Ohio, Dec. 9, 1823. 

Public Debt. Total.' 

$25,423,036 12 $40,877,646 04 

21,296,201 62 3,5,104,875 40 

7,703,926 29 24,004,199 73 

8,628,494 28 21,763,024 85 

8,367,093 62 19,090,572 69 

7,848,949 12 17,G76,.529 67 

5,530,016 41 15,314,171 00 

16,568,393 76 31,898,538 47 



Years. 


Expenditures. 


1817 


$1.5,454,609 92 


1818 


13.808,673 78 


1819 


16,300,273 44 


1820 


13,134,530 57 


1821 


10,723,479 07 


1822 


9,827,580 55 


1823 


9,784,154 59 


1824 


15,330,144 71 




104,363,446 63 



$101,366,111 22 



$205,729,557 85 



SUCCESSIVE ADMINISTRATIONS, FROM 1797 TO 184S. 6.33 

SIXTH ADMINISTRATION— 1824 to 1829.— four years. 

President : John Quincy Adams, Massachusetts, 
Vice-President : John C. Calhoun, South. Carolina. 
Secretary of State : Henry Clay, of Ky., March 8, 1825 
Secretary of the Treasury : Richard Rush, of Penn., March 7, 1825. 
Secretaries of War . Jas. Barbour, of Va., March 7, 1825 ; Peter B. Porter, of 
N. Y., May 26, 1828. 

Secretary of the Navy -. Samuel L. Southard, continued in office. 
Postmaster-General : John M'Lean continued in office. 



Years 
1825 
1826 
1827 
1828 


Expenditures. 

$11,490,459 94 

13,062,316 27 

12,653,096 65 

13,296,041 45 


Public Debt. 

$12,095,344 78 

11,041,082 19 

10,003,668 39 

12,163,438 07 

$45,303,533 43 


Total. 

$23,585,804 72 

24,103,398 46 

22,656,765 04 

25,459,479 52 




$50,501,914 31 


$95,805,447 74 



SEVENTH ADMINISTRATION— 1829 to 1837.— eight years. 

President : Andrew Jackson, Tennessee. 

Vice-Presidents: John C. Calhoun, South Carolina; Martin Van Buren, 
New York. 

Secretaries of State: Martin Van Buren, of New York, March 6, 1829; Ed. 
Livingston, of La., 1831 ; Louis M'Lane, of Del., 1833 ; John Forsyth, of Ga., 1834. 

Secretaries of the Treasury: Samuel D. Ingham, of Pa., March 6, 1829; 
Louis M'Lane, of Del., 1831; Wm. J, Duane, of Pa., 1833; Roger B. Taney, of 
Md., 1833 — not confirmed by the senate; Levi Woodbury, of N. H.^ 1834. 

Secretaries of War : John H. Eaton, of Tenn., March 9, 1829 ; Lewis Cass, 
of Ohio, 1831. 

Secretaries of the Navy: John Branch, ofN. C, March 9, 1829; Levi "Wood- 
bury, of N. H., 1831 ; Mahlon Dickerson, of N. J., 1834. 

PosTiMASTERS-GENERAL : Wm. T. Barry, of Ky., March 9, 1829; Amos Kendall, 
of Ky., 1835. 



Years. 


Expenditures. 


Public Debt. 


Total. 


1829 


$12,660,490 62 


$12,383,867 78 


$25,044,358 4f) 


1830 


13,229,533 33 


11,355,748 22 


24,585,281 55 


1831 


13,864,067 90 


16,174,378 22 


30,038,446 12 


1832 


16,516,388 77 


17,840,309 29 


34,356.698 06 


1833 


22,713,755 11 


1,543,-543 38 


24,257,298 49 


1834 


18,425,417 25 


6,176,565 19 


24,601,982 44 


1835 


17,514,950 28 


58,191 28 


17,573,141 56 


1836 


29,621,807 82 
$144,546,404 08 




29,621,807 82 




$65,532,603 36 


$210,079,007' 44 



EIGHTH ADMINISTRATION— 1837 to 1841.— four years. 

President : Martin Van Buren, N''w York. 

Vice-President : Richard M. Johnson, Kentucky. 

Secretary of State : John Forsvth, appointed June 27, 1834, resigned March 
3, 1841. 

Secretary of the Treasury : Levi Woodbury, appointed June 27, 1834, re- 
signed March 2, 1841. 

Secretary of War : Joel R. Poinsett, appointed March 7, 1837, resigned 
March 2, 1841. 

Secretaries of the Navy: Mahlon Dickerson, appointed June 30, 1834, re- 
sianed June, 1838; James K.Paulding, appointed /rom June 30, 1838; resigned 
March 2, 1841. 

Postmasters-General: Amos Kendall, appointed May 1, 1835, resigned; John 
M. Niles, appointed /ro?n May 25, 1840, resigned March 1, 1841. 



634 SUCCESSIVE ADJIINISTRATIONS, FROM 1797 TO 1846. 

Years Expenditures. Public Debt. Total. 

1837 $31,793,587 24 $21,823 91 $31,815,410 15 

1838 34,578,785 08 5,605,720 27 37,184,505 35 

1839 2.5,488,547 73 11,127,987 42 36,616,534 15 

1840 23,327,772 11 4,086,614 70 27,414,386 81 



$112,188,692 16 $20,842,146 30 $133,030,836 46 



NINTH ADMINISTRATION— 1841 to 1845.— four years. 

President : Gen. William Henry Harrison, Ohio. Died April 4, 1841. 

Vice-President : John Tyler, Virginia, 

President: John Tyler, Virginia (from April 4, 1841). 

Secretaries of State: Daniel Webster, appointed March 5, 1841, resigned May 
8, 1843; Hugh S. Legare, appointed May 9, 1843, died June 20, 1843; Abel P. Up- 
shur, appointed June 24, 1843, died February 28, 1844; John Nelson, acting, Febru- 
ary 29, 1844; John C. Calhoun, appointed March 6, 1844, resigned March 1, 1845. 

Secretaries of the Treasury: Thomas Ewing, appointed March' 5, 1841, re- 
signed; Walter Forward, appointed September 13, 1841, resigned ; George M. Bibb, 
appointed June 15, 1844, resigned March 3, 1845. 

Secretaries of War: John Bell, appointed March 5, 1841, resigned; John C. 
Spencer, appointed October 12, 1841, transferred to treasury department; James M. 
Porter, appointed March 8, 1843, rejected by the senate; William Wilkins, appointed 
February 15, 1844, resigned March 3, 1845. 

Secretaries of the Navy: George E. Badger, appointed March 5, 1841, re- 
signed; Abel P. Upshur, appointed September, 13, 1841, transferred to department of 
state; David Henshaw, appointed July 24, 1843, rejected by the senate; Thomas 
W. Gilmer, appointed February 15, 1844, died February 28, 1844; John Y. Mason, 
appointed March 14, 1844, resigned March 3, 1845. 

Postjiasters-General : Francis Granger, appointed March. 6, 1841, resigned; 
Charles A. Wicklifl'e, appointed September 13, 1841, resigned March 3, 1845. 

Years Expenditures. Public Debt. Total. 

1841 $26,196,840 29 $5,600,689 74 $31,797,530 03 

1842 24,361,336 59 8,575,539 94 32,936,876 53 
1st Jan. to Jan. 30, 

1843 11,256,508 60 861,596 55 12,118,105 15 
For the year endmg Jan. 30, 

1844 20,650,198 01 2,991,802 84 33,642,010 85 
From July to Dec. 31, 

1844 11,700,159 50 1,538,478 06 13,238,637 56 



$94,164,952 99 $29,568,207 13 $123,838,160 12 



TENTH ADMINISTRATION— 1845 to 1849. 

President : James Knox Polk, Tennessee. 

Vice-President : George M. Dallas, Pennsylvania. 

Secretary of State : James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, appointed March 5, 
1845. 

Secretary of the Treasury : Robert J. Walker, of Mississippi, appointed March 
5, 1845. 

Secretary of War: William L. Marcy, of New York, appointed March 5, 1843. 

Secretary of the Navy : George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, appointed March, 
1845. JoHjr Y. Mason, of Virginia, appointed 1846. 

Postmaster-General: Cave Johnson, of Tennessee, appointed March 5, 1845. 



MINISTERS TO FORElCiN COUNTRIES. 635 



PUBLIC MINISTERS OF THE UNITED STATES, TO FOREIGN 
COUNTRIES, FROM 1789 TO 1846. 

To Great Britain. 

Gouverneur Morris, of New Jersey, commissioner, October 13, 1789. 

Thomas Pinckney, of South Carolina, minister plenipotentiary, January 12, 1792. 

John Jay, of New York, envoy extraordinary, April 19, 1794. 

Rufus King, of New York, minister plenipotentiary. May, 20, 1796. 

James Monroe, of Virginia, minister plenipotentiary, April 18, 1803. 

James Monroe and William Pinkney, jointly and severally, ministers plenipoten- 
tiary and extraordinary, May 12, 1806. 

William Pinkney, of Maryland, minister plenipotentiary, May 12, 1806, renewed 
February 26, 1808. 

John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipo- 
tentiary, February 28, 1815. 

Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
December 16, 1817. 

Rufus King, of New York, ei^voy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
May 5, 1825. 

Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentia- 
ry. May 10, 1826.' 

James Barbour, of Virginia, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
May 23, 1828. 

Louis M'Lane, of Delaware, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
February 10, 1830. 

Martin Van Buren, of N.Y., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1831. 

Aaron Vail, of New York, charge d'aflaires, 1832. 

Andrew Stevenson, of Virginia, envoy extraordinarj' and minister plenipotentia- 
ry', 1836. 

Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, 1841. 

Louis M'Lane, of Maryland, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentia- 
ry, 1845. 

To France. 

William Short, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, April 6, 1790. 

Gouveraeur Morris, of New Jersey, minister penipotentiary, January 12, 1792 

James Monroe, of Virsinia, minister plenipotentiary, May 28, 1790. 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, of South Carolina, minister plenipotentiary, Septem- 
ber 9, 1796. 

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall, jointly and 
severally, envoys extraordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, June 5, 1797. 

Oliver Ellsworth, Patrick Henry, and William Vans Murray, envoys extraordinary 
and ministers plenipotentiary, February 26, 1799. 

William Richardson Davie, of North Carolina, in place of Patrick Henry, Decem- 
ber 10, 1799. 

James A. Bayard, of Delaware, minister plenipotentiary, February 19, 1801. 

Robert R. Livingston, of New York, minister plenipotentiary, October 2, 1801. 

John Armstrons;. of New York, minister plenipotentiary, June 30, 1804. 

Joel Barlow, of Connecticut, minister plenipotentiary, February, 27, 1811. 

W^illiam H. Crawford, of Georgia, minister plenipotentiary, April 9, 1813. . 

Albert Gallatin, of Pennsylvania, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentia- 
ly, February 28, 1815. 

James Brown, of Louisiana, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, De- 
cember 9, 1823. 

William C. Rives, of Virginia, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
February 10, 1830. 

Edward Livingston, of Louisiana, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, 1833. 

Lewis Cass, of Ohio, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary', 1836. 

William R. King, of Alabama, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, 1844. 



636 MINISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 

To Spain. 
William Carmichael, of Maryland, charge d'affaires, April 11, 1790. 
William Carmichael and William Short, commissioners, March 16, 1792. 
William Short, of Virginia, minister resident. May 28, 1794. 
Thomas Pincliney, of South Carolina, envoy extrordinary, November 24, 1794. 
David Humphreys, of Connecticut, minister plenipotentiary, Mav 20, 1196. 
Charles Pinckney, of South Carolina, minister plenipotentiary, June 6, 1801. 
James Monroe, of Virginia, minister extraordinary and plenipotentiary, Octo- 
ber 14, 1804. 

James Bowdoin, of Massachusetts, minister plenipotentiary, November 22, 1804. 
George W. Erving, of Massachusetts, minister plenipotentiary, August 10, 1814. 
John Forsyth, of Georgia, minister plenipotentiary, February 16, 1819. 
Hugh Nelson, of Virginia, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
June 15, 1823. 

Alexander Hill Everett, of Massachusetts, envoy extraordinary and minister plen- 
ipotentiary, March 9, 1825. 

Cornelius P. Van Ness, of Vermont, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, February 10, 1830. 

William T. Barry, of Ky., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1835. 
John H. Eaton, of Tenn., envoy extraordinary and njinister plenipotentiary, 1836. 
Aaron Vail, of New York, charge d'affaires, 1840. 

Washington Irving, of N. Y., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1842. 
Romulus M. Saunders, of North Carolina, envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- 
potentiary, 1546. 

To the Netherlands. 
William Short, of Virginia, minister resident, January 16, 1792. 
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, minister resident. May 30, 1794. 
William Vans Murray, of Maryland, minister resident, March 2, 1797. 
William Eustis, of Massachusetts, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
December 10, 1814. 

Alexander H. Everett, of Massachusetts, chara:e d'affaires, November 30, 1818. 
Christopher Hughes, of Maryland, charge d'all'aires, March 9, 1825. 
Albert Gallatin and William Pitt Preble, agents in the negotiation and upon the 
umpirage relating to the northeastern boundary of the United States, May 9, 1828. 

William Pitt Preble, of Maine, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiarv, 
February 10, 1830. 

Auguste Davezac, of Louisiana, charge d'affaires, 1831. 

Harmanus Bleecker, of New York, charge d'affaires, 1839. 

Christopher Hughes, of Maryland, charge d'affaires, 1842. 

Auguste Davezac, of New York, charge d'aflaires, 1845. • 

To Portugal. 
David Humphreys, of Connecticut, minister resident, February 21, 179J. 
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, minister plenipotentiary. May 30, 1796. 
William Smith, of South Carolina, minister plenipotentiary, July 10, 1797. 
Thomas Sumpter. of S. Carolina, minister plenipotentiary (in Brazil), March 7, 1809. 
John Graham, of Virginia, minister plenipotentiary (in Brazil), January 6, 1819. 
Henry Dearborn, senior, of New Hampshire, envoy extraordinary and minister 
plenipotentiary. May 7, 1822. 

Thomas L. L. Brent, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, March 9, 1825. 
Edward Kavenagh, of Maine, charge d'affaires, 1835. 
Washington Barrow, charge d'affaires, 1841. 
Abraham Rencher, of North Carolina, charge d'affaires, 1843. 

To Prussia 
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, minister plenipotentiary, June 1, 1797. 
Henry Clay (secretary of state), special commissioner, with full power to conclude 
a treaty with the government of Prussia, April 18, 1828. 

Henry Wheaton, of Rhode Island, minister plenipotentiary, 1837. 
Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, minister plenipotentiary, 1846. 

To Jltistria. 
Henry A. Muhlenberg, of Pennsylvania, minister plenipotentiary, 1838. 
Daniel Jenifer, of Blaryland, minister plenipotentiary, 1841. 
William A. Stiles, of Georgia, charge d'affaires, 1845. 



MINISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 637 

To Russia. 

John Qufncy Adams, of Massachusetts, minister plenipotentiary, June 27, 1809. 

James A. Bayard, of Delaware, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
February 28, J8l5. 

William Pinkney, of Maryland, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
April 26, 1815. 

George W. Campbell, of Tennessee, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, April 16, 1818. 

Henry Middleton, of South Carolina, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiarj', April 6, 1820. 

John Randolph, of Virginia, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1830. 

James Buchanan, of Penn., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1831. 

William Wilkins, of Penn., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1834. 

John Randolph Clay, of Pennsylvania, charge d'affaires, 1836. 

George M. Dallas, Penn., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1837. 

Churchill C. Cambreleng, of New York, envoy extraordinary and minister pleni- 
potentiary, 1840. 

Charles S. Todd, of Ky., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1841. 

To Sweden, 
Jonathan Russell, of Rhode Island, minister plenipotentiary, January 18, 1814. 
Christopher Hughes, jr., of Maryland, charge d'atiaires, January 21, 1819. 
William C. Somerville, of Maryland, charge d'affaires, March 9, 1825. 
John James Applcton, of Massachusetts, charge d'affaires. May 2, 1826. 
Christopher Hughes, of Maryland, cliarge d'affaires, March 3, 1830. 
George W. Lay, of New York, charge d'affaires, 1842. 
Henry W. Ellsworth, of Indiana, charge d'affaires, 1845. 

Negotiators of the Treaty of Ghent. 
John,Quincy Adams, Albert Gallatin, and James A. Bayard, envoys extraordinary 
and ministers plenipotentiary, April 17, 1813. {See rot. 1, pages 363, 366.) 

Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell were added to this commission on the 18th of 
January, 1814. 

To Denmark. 
Henry Whcaton, of New York, charge d'affaires, March 3, 1827^ 
Jonatlian F. Woodside, of Ohio, charge d'affaires, 1835. 
William W. Irwin, of Pennsylvania, charge d'affaires, 1843. 

To Belgium. 
Hugh S. Legare, of South Carolina, charge d'affaires, 1832. 
Virgil Maxcy, of Maryland, charge d'aiTaires, 1837. 
Henry W. Hilliard, of Ahibama, charge d'affaires, 1842. 
Thomas G. Clemson, of Pennsylvania, charge d'affaires, 1844. 

To the Two Sicilies. 
John Nelson, of Maryland, charge d'affaires, 1831. 
Enos T. Throop, of New York, charge d'affaires, 1838. 
William Boulware, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1841. 
William H. Polk, of Tennessee, charge d'affaires, 1845. 

To Sardinia. 
H. Y. Ro!rers,charge d'affaires, 1840. 
Ambrose Baber, of Georgia, charge d'affaires, 1841. 
Robert Wickliffe, jr., of Kentucky, charge d'affaires, 1843. 

Turkey. 
David Porter, of Maryland, charge d'affaires, 1831. 
David Porter, minister resident, 1839. 
Dabney S. Carr, of Maryland, minister resident, 1843. 

To Guatemala {Central .America). 
William Miller, of North Carolina, charje d'affaires, March 7, 1825. 
John Williams, of Tennessee, charge d'affaires, December, 9, 182.5. 
William B. Rochester, of New York, charge d'affaires, March 3, 1827. 
Charles G. DeWitt, of New York, charge d'affaires, 1833. 
John L. Stephens, of New York, minister resident, 1839. 



638 MINISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. • 

To Mexico. 

Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
January 27, 1823. {Declined the appointment.) 

Ninian Edwards, of Illinois, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
March 4, 1824. 

Joel R. Poinsett, of South Carolina, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, March 8, 1825. 

Anthony Butler, of Mississippi, charge d'affaires, March 12, 1830. 

Powhattan Ellis, of Miss., envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1837. 

Waddy Thompson, of S. C, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1842. 

Wilson Shannon, of Ohio, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1844. 

John Slidell, of Louisiana, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 1845. 

To the Republic of Colombia. 

Kichard C. Anderson, of Virginia, minister plenipotentiary, January 27, 1823. 

Beaufort T. Watts, of South Carolina, charge d'affaires, March 3, 1827. 

William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary. May 24, 1828. 

Thomas P. Moore, of Kentucky, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary, 
March 13, 1829. 

To Brazil. 

Condy Raguet, of Pennsylvania, charge d'affaires, March 9, 1825. 
William Tudor, charge d'affaires, December 27, 1827. 
Ethan A. Brown, of Ohio, charge d'affaires, 1830. 
William Hunter, of Rhode Island, charge d'affaires, 1834. 
William Hunter, of Rhode Island, minister plenipotentiary, 1841. 
George H. Proffit, of Indiana, minister plenipotentiary, 1843. 
Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, minister plenipotentiary, 1844. 

To the Republic of Buenos .Ayres. 

CtEsar A. Rodnej'', of Delaware, minister plenipotentiary, January 27, 1823. 
John M. Forbes, of Florida, chai-ge d'affaires, March 9, 1825. 
Francis Baylies, of Massachusetts, charge d'affaires, 1832. 
William Brent, jr., of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1844. 

To the Republic of Chili. 

Heman Allen, of Vermont, minister plenipotentiary, January 27, 1823. 
Samuel Earned, of Rhode Island, charge d'affaires, February 9, 1828. 
John Harum, of Ohio, charge d'affaires, 1830. 
Richard Pollard, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1834. 
John S. Pendleton, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1841. 
William Crump, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1844. 

To Peru. 

James Cooley of Ohio, charge d'affaires, May 2, 1826. 

Samuel Earned, of Rhode Island, charge d'affaires, December 29, 1828, 

Emanuel J. West, of Illinois, charge d'affaires, March 12, 1830. 

Samuel Earned, of Rhode Island, charge d'affaires, 1831. 

James B. Thornton, of New Hampshire, charge d'affaires, 1836. 

James C. Pickett, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1838. 

Albert G. Jewett, of Maine, charge d'affaires, 1845. 

To Venezuela. 

J. G. A. Williamson, of North Carolina, charge d'affaires, 1835. 
Allen A. Hall, of Tennessee, charge d'affaires, 1841. 
Benjamin G. Shields, of Alabama, charge d'affaires, 1845. 

To New Grenada, 

Robert B. M'Afee, of Kentucky, charge d'affaires, 1833. 
James Semple, of Illinois, charge d'affaires, 1837. 
William M. Blackford, of Virginia, charge d'affaires, 1842. 
Benjamin A. Bidlack, of Pennsylvania, charge d'affaires,, 1845. 



MI.N'lSTtRS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 639 

Assembly of American nations, proposed to be held at Panama. 

Richard C. Anderson, of Virginia, and John Sergeant, of Pennsylvania, envoys ex- 
traordinary and ministers plenipotentiary, March 14, 1826. 

Joel R. Poinsett, of South Carolina, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipoten- 
tiary, February 12, 1827. 

To Texas. 

Alcee Lahranche, of Louisiana, charge d'affaires, 1837. 

George H. Flood, of Ohio, charge d'affaires, 1840. 

Joseph Eve, of Kentucky, charge d'afiaires, 1841. 

William S. Murphy, of Ohio, charge d'afiaires, 1843. 

Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, charge d'affaires, 1845. 

To China. 
Caleb Gushing, of Massachusetts, commissioner, 1843. 
Alexander H. Everett, of Massachusetts, commissioner, 1845. 

To Sandwich Islands. 
George Brown, of Massachusetts, commissioner, 1843. 
Anthony Ten Eyck, of Michigan, commissioner, 1845. 



The pay of ministers plenipotentiary is $9,000 per annum, salary, beside $9,000 for 
an outfit. Secretaries of legation receive $2,000, and charge d'affaires, $4,500 per 
annum. To entitle any charge d'affaires, or secretary of any legation or embassy 
to any foreign country, or secretary of any minister plenipotentiary, to the above com- 
pensation, they must respectively be appointed by the president of the United States, 
by and with the advice and consent of the senate; but in the recess of the senate, the 
president is authorized to make such appointments, which must be submitted to the 
senate at the next session thereafter, for their advice and consent ; and no compensa- 
tion is allowed to any charge d'affaires, or any secretary of legation, embassy, or 
minister, who shall not be so appointed. 

Consuls of the United States, generally so called, are, in effect, agents for commerce 
and seamen ; which latter denomination, for particular reasons, is given to some of this 
class of public officers. They receive no yearly salaries (except at Paris and London, 
Tangier, Tunis, and Tripoli, where they have an annual salary of $2,000), and their 
compensation is derived from the fees which are allowed by law. The amount of 
these fees depends, of course, upon the state of foreign trade, which is perpetually 
fluctuating. Consuls of the United States, for commercial purposes, are regularly ad- 
mitted and recognised, as to their official functions, in the ports of Christian Europe; 
but in the colonies of the European nations, agents for commerce and seamen mostly 
exercise the duties of their station under courtesy, without any formal recognition ,• 
and, in some instances, from the jealousy of colonial policy, they have not been per- 
mitted to exercise them at all. In their public capacity, consuls and agents for com- 
merce and seamen are principally occupied in verifying, in different forms, the legality 
of the trade of the United States with foreign nations, and in relieving and sending 
home American seamen, who, by accident or misfortune, are left destitute within the 
jurisdiction of their several consulates and agencies. 

The compensation of the following public officers of the United States is at present 
fixed by law at the amounts stated : — 

President of the United states, $25,000 per annum; vice-president, $5,000 per an- 
num; secretaries of state, treasury, navy, and war, each, $6,000 per annum; post- 
master-general, $6,000 per annum ; attorney-general, $4,000 per annum ; chief jus- 
tice of the supreme court, $5,000 per annum ; associate justices, $4,500 per annum. 

From the first Congress, in 1789, inclusive, until March 4, 1795, senators and rep- 
resentatives received each $6 per diem, and $6 for every twenty miles travel. From 
March 4, 1795, to March 4, 1796, senators received $7, and representatives $6 per 
diem. From March 4, 1796, until December 4, 1815, the per diem was $6, and the 
mileage $6, to senators and representatives. From December 4, 1815, until March 
4, 1817, each senator and representative received $1,500 per annum, with a propor- 
tional deduction for absence, from any cause but sickness. The president of the sen- 
ate pro tempore, and speaker of the house, $3,000 per annum, each. From March 4, 
1817, the compensation to members of both houses has been $8 per diem, and $8 for 
every twenty miles travel ; and to the president of the senate pro tempore, and 
speaker of the house, $16 per diem. 



640 MINISTERS TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



MINISTERS, &c., TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES, from 1845 to 1849. 

MIIVISTERS PLENIPOTENTIAHT. 

Great Britain, — George Bancroft, of Massachusetts, 1846, 
France. — Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, 1847. 
Prussia. — Edward A. Hannegan, of Indiana, 1849. 
Russia. — Ralph J. Ingersoll, of Connecticut, 1846. 

« Arthur P. Bagby, of Alabama, 1848. 

Brazil— Day\d Tod, of Ohio, 1847. 

Empire of Germany. — Andrew J. Donelson, of Tennessee, 1848. 
Turkey. — George P. Marsh, of Vermont, mmister resident, 1849 

CHARGE d'affaires. 

Denmark. — R. P. Flenihen, of Pennsylvania, 1847. 
Two Sicilies. — John Rowan, of Kentucky, 1848. 

« Thomas W. Chinn, of Louisiana, 1849. 

Sardinia. — Nathaniel Niles, of Vermont, 1848. 
Portugal. — George W. Hopkins, of Virginia, 1847. 
Central America. — Elijah Hise, of Kentucky, 1848. 

« E. G. Squires, of Ohio, 1849. 

Rome. — J. L. Martin, of Pennsylvania, 1848. 

« Lewis Cass, jr., of Michigan, 1849. 

ilfearjco.— Nathan Cliflbrd, of Maine, 1848. 

Argentine Republic {Buenos Ayres). — William A. Harris, of Virginia, 1846- 
Chili. — Soth Barton, of Louisiana, 1847. 
Peru. — John Randolph Clay, of Pennsylvania, 1847. 
Bolivia. — John Appleton, of Maine, 1848. 

« Alexander K. McClung, of Mississippi, 1849. 

Ecuador. — Vanbrugh Livingston, of New York, 1848. 

« John Trumbull Van Alen, of New York, 1849. 

Netv Grenada. — Thomas M. Foote, of New York, 1849. 

COMMISSIONERS. 

China. — John W. Davis, of Indiana, 1848. 
Mexico. — Nicholas P. Trist, of Virginia, 1847. 



ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COUHT. 

Robert C. Grier, of Pennsylvania, appointed IS46. 



SUPREME COURT. 641 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, since 1789. 
John Jay, of New York, commissioned September 26, 1789. 
William Cusliinir, of Massachusetts, January 27, 1796. 
Oliver Ellsworth, of Connecticut, March 4, 1796. 
John Jay,» of New York, December 19, 1800. 
John Marshall, of Virsinia, January 31, 1801. 
Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, March 15, 1836. 

Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, since 1789. 
John Rutledse, of South Carolina, September 26, 1789. 
William CusWns, of Massachusetts, September 27, 1789. 
Robert H. Harrison, of Maryland, September 28, 1789. 
James Wilson, of Pennsylvania, September 29, 1789. 
John Blair, of Virginia, September 30, 1789. 
James Iredell, of North Carolina, February 10, 1790. 
Thomas Johnson, of Maryland, November 7, 1791. 
William Patterson, of New York, March 4, 1793. 
Samuel Chase, of Marjland, January 27, 1796. 
Bushrod Washinston, of Virq-inia, December 20, 1798. 
William Johnson, of South Carolina, March 26, 1804. 
Brockholst Livinsfston, of New York, January 16, 1807. 
Thomas Todd, of Virginia, March 3, 1807. 
Levi Lincoln, of Massachusetts, Januai-y 7, 1811, 
John Qiiincy Adams,* of Massachusetts, February 22, 1811. 
Gabriel Duvall, of Maryland, November 18, 1811. 
Joseph Story, of Massachusetts, November 18, 1811. 
Smith Thompson, of New York, December 9, 1823. 
Robert Trimble, of Kentucky, March 9, 1826. 
John M'Lean, of Ohio, March 7, 1829. 
Henry Baldwin, of Pennsylvania, January 6, 1830. 
James M. Wayne, Georiiia, January, 1835. 
Philip P. Barbour, of Viri^inia, March 15, 1836. 
William Smith.f of Alabama, March 8, 1837. 
John Catron, of Tennessee, March 8. 1837. 
John M'Kinley, of Alabama, September, 1837. 
Peter V. Daniel, of Virginia, March 3, 1841. 
Samuel Nelson, of New York, February, 1845. 
Levi Woodbury, of New Hampshire, Januarj', 1846. 

Attorneys-General of the United States, since 1789. 
Edmund Randolph, of Virginia, September 26, 1789. 
William Bradford, of Pennsylvania, January 27, 1794. 
Charles Lee, of Virginia, December 10, 1795. 
Levi Lincoln, of Massachusetts, March 5, 1801. 
Robert Smith, of Maryland, March 3, 1805. 
John Breckenridge, of Kentucky, January 17, 1806 
Cnesar A. Rodney, of Delaware, January 20, 1807. 
William Pinkney, of Maryland, December 11, iSll. 
Richard Rush, of Pennsylvania, February 10, 1814. 
William Wirt, of Virginia, December, 16, 1817. 
John M'Pherson Berrien, of Georgia, March 9, 1829. 
Roger B. Taney, of Maryland, December, 1831. 
Benjamin F. Butler, of New York, January, 1834. 
Felix Grundy, of Tennessee, August, 1838. 
Henry D. Gilpin, of Pennsylvania, January, 1840. 
John J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, March, 1841. 
Hugh S. Lesare. of South Carolina, Sepiember, 1841. 
John Nelson, of Maryland, July, 1843. 
John Y. Mason, of Virginia, March, 1845. 
Nathan Clillord, of Miiiiie, 1846. 
Isaac Toucey, of Connecticut, 1848. 
Declined the appointment. T iVIr. Smith declined, and Judge M'Kjnley waa appointed. 
41 



642 PRESIDENTS OF THE SENATE. 

PRESIDENTS OF THE SENATE. 

VICE PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 



Congresses. 

1 to 4. 

5 and 6. 

7 and 8. 

9 to 12. 
13 and 14. 
15 to 18. 



John Adams - 
Thomas Jefferson - 
Aaron Burr 
George Clinton* 
Elbridge Gerry* 
Daniel D. Tompkins 



Elected. 

■ 1789 

■ 1797 

• 1801 

• 1805 

• 1813 
1817 



Congresses. Elected. 

19 to 22. John C. Calhounf - 1825 

23 and 24. Martin Van Buren - 1833 

25 and 26. Richard M. Johnson 1837 

27 and 28. John TylerJ - - 1841 

29 and 30. George M. Dallas - 1845 

31 and 32. Millard Fillmore - 1849 



PRESIDENTS OF THE SENATE— P»-o tern. 



1st Congress. 

2d « 

3d « 

4th " 

5th " 

eth " 

7th " 

8th « 

9th " 

10th « 

11th « 

12th " 

13lh " 

14th " 

15th 

16th " 

17th " 

18th " 

19th " 

20th " 

21st " 

22d " 

23d « 

24th « 

25th « 

26th " 

27th " 

28th " 

29th " 

30th " 



John Langdon, of New Hampshire. 

Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia. 

John' Langdon, of New Hampshire. 

Ralph Izard, of South Carolina. 

Henry Tazewell, of Virginia. 

Samuel Livermore, of New Hampshire. 

William Bingham, of Pennsylvania. 

William Bradford, of Rhode Island. 

Theodore Sedgwick, of Massachusetts. 

James Ross, of Pennsylvania. 

Samuel Livermore, of New Hampshire. 

James HiJlhouse, of Connecticut. 
; Abraham Baldwin, of Georgia. 

Stephen R. Bradley, of Vermont. 

John Brown, of Kentucky. 

Jesse Franklin, of North Carolina. 

Joseph Anderson, of Tennessee. 
; Samuel Smith, of Maryland. 
' Samuel Smith, " 

' Samuel Smith, " 

' Stephen R. Bradley, of Vermont. 
' John Milledge, of Georgia. 

Andrew Gregg, of Pennsylvania. 

John Gaillard, of South Carolina. 

John Pope, of Kentucky. 

William H. Crawford, of Georgia. 

John Gaillard, of South Carolina. 

John Gaillard, " 

j John Gaillard, " 

; James Barbour, of Virginia, 
i James Barbour, " 

•'John Gaillard, of South Carolina. 
■ John Gaillard, " 

John Gaillard, " 

Nathaniel Macon, of North Carolina- 
; Nathaniel Macon, " 

[ Samuel Smith, of Maryland. 
' Samuel Smith, " 

j Littleton W. Tazewell, of Virginia. 
I Hugh L. White, of Tennessee. 
i George Poindexter, of Mississippi. 
{ John Tyler, of Virginia. 

William R. King, of Alabama. 

William R. King, " 

William R. King, " 

Samuel L. Southard, of New Jersey. 

Willie P. Mangum, of North Carolina. 

David R. Atchison, of Missouri. 

David R. Atchison, of Missouri. 



• Died in oifice. t Resigned Dec. 28, 1832. J Became president by death of Harrison, 



CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES. 643 



SUMMARY OF THE CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES, 

JUNE 1, 1840. 



Free or Non-Slaveholding States. 
States and Territories. Whites. Free Colored. Slaves. Total, 

Maine 500,438 1,355 501,793 

New Hampshire 284,036 537 1 284,574 

Vermont 291,218 730 291,948 

Massachusetts 729,030 8,668 737,698 

Rhode Island 105,587 3,238 5 108,830 

Connecticut 301,856 8,105 17 309,978 



Total, New England.. .2,212,165 22,633 23 2^34,821 

New York 2,378,890 50,027 4 2,428,921 

New Jersey 351,588 21,044 674 373,306 

Pennsylvania 1,676,115 47,854 64 1,724,033 

Ohio 1,502,122 17,342 3 1,519,467 

Indiana 678,698 7,1 65 3 685.866 

Illinois 472,254 3,598 33 1 476J 183 

Michi2;an 21 1,560 707 212,267 

Wisconsin '. . . . .30,749 185 11 43,1 12 

Iowa 42,924 172 16 30,945 



Total, Free States 9,557,065 170,727 1,129 9,728,921 

Slaveholding States. 

Delaware 58,561 16,919 2,605 78,085 

Maryland 318,204 62,078 89,737 470,019 

District of Columbia 30,657 8,361 4,694 .43,712 

Virginia 740,968 49,842 448,987 1,239,797 

North Carolina 484,870 22,732 255,817 753,419 

South Carolina 259,084 = . . .8.276 327,038 494,398 

Georsria 407,695 2,753 280,944 691,392 

Florida 27,943 8l7 25,717 54,477 

Alabama 335, 185 2,039 253,532 590,756 

Mississippi 179,074 1,369 195,211 375,654 

Louisiana 158,457 25,502 168,451 352,411 

Arkansas 77,174 465 19,935 97,574 

Tennessee 640,627 5,524 183,059 829,210 

Kentucky 590,253 7,3 17 182,258 779,828 

Missouri 323,888 1,574 58,240 383,702 



Total, Slave States 4,632,640 21 5,568 2,486,226 7,334,434 



Total, United States. . . . 14,189,705 386,295 2,487,355 17,063,355 



PROGRESS OF POPULATION IN THE UNITED STATES FOR FIFTY 
YEARS, FROM 1790 TO 1840. 

First Census, .August 1, 1790. 
Whites. Free Colored. Slaves. Total. 

Free States 1,900,772 26,831 40,850 1,968,453 

Slave States 1,271,692 32,635 645,047 1,961,374 



ToUl 3,172,464. 59,446 697,897 3,929,827 



644 CENSUS OF THK UNITED STATES. 

Second Census, August 1, 1800. 
Whites. Free Colored. Slaves. Total. 

Free States 2,601,509 47,154 35,946 2,684,609 

Slave States 1,702,980 61,241 857,095 2,621,316 



Total 4,304,489 108,395 893,041 5,305,925 

Third Census, August 1, 1810. 

Free States 3,653,219 78,181 27,510 3,758,910 

Slave States 2,208,785 108,265 1,163,854 3,480,904 



Total 5,862,004 186,446 1,191,364 7,239,814 

Fourth Census, August 1, 1820. 

Free States 5,030,371 102,893 19,108 5,152,372 

Slave States 2,842,340 135,434 1,524,580 4,502,224 



Total 7,872,711 238,197 1,543,688 9,654,596 

Fifth Census, June 1, 1830. 

Free States 6,876,620 137,529 3.568 7,017,717 

Slave States 3,660,758 182,070 2,005,475 5,848,303 



Total 10,537,378 3 19,599 2,009,043 12,866,020 

Sixth Census, June 1, 1840. 

Free States 9,557,065 170,727 1,129 9,723,921 

Slave States 4,632,640 215,568 2,486,226 7,334,434 



Total 14,189,705 386,295 2,487,355 17,063,355 



OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE CENSUS OF 1840. 

Number of Persons employed in Agriculture. Manufactures, Commerce. 

New England States 414,138 187,258 17,157 

Middle States 808,633 333,947 50,077 

Southern States 955,729 87,955 12,962 

Southwestern States 650,548 37,899 14,496 

Northwestern States 890,905 144,690 22,315 



Total, 1840 3,719,951 791,749 117,607 

Total, 1820 2,070,646 349,506 72,493 

Other Occupations, by the Census of 1840. 

Namber of Persons employed in Mining in the United States 15,211 

« « « Navigation of the Ocean 56,021 

*e « « Internal Navigation 33,076 

<* « *' Learned Professions, including Engineers.... 65,255 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 645 



SYNOPSIS OF THE CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SEVERAL 
UNITED STATES. 

ADOPTION OF THE FIRST STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

The continental Congress, on the 10th of May, 1776, recommended to 
the assemblies and conventions of the several colonies where no govern- 
ments sufficient to the exigencies of their affairs had been established, to 
adopt such systems as, in the opinion of the representatives of the people, 
would best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents in 
particular, and British America in general. 

The difficulties in forming state governments or constitutions, were 
much less than in forming a system embracing all the states. The people 
had long been familiar with the civil institutions of their respective states, 
and could, with comparative ease, make such alterations as would suit 
their new political situation. The people of Connecticut and Rhode Is- 
land had, from their first settlement, chosen all their rulers, and in these 
states, a change of forms was only requisite. 

Massachusetts, after the alteration of her charter by parliament, con- 
tinued her old system as far as practicable, agreeably to the advice of Con- 
gress, until she was able and had leisure to form a new and more perma- 
nent one. From the peculiar situation of New Hampshire, Virginia, and 
South Carolina, Congress in November, 1775, recommended to them, if 
they judged it necessary for their peace and security, to establish govern- 
ments, to continue during the disputes with Great Britain. In pursuance 
of these recommendations, the states of New Hampshire, South Carolina, 
Virginia, and New Jersey, established new systems of government before 
the declaration of independence. They were followed by four other 
states, during the year 1776, and with the exception of that of Virginia, 
these state systems of government were expressly limited in their duration 
to the continuance of the dispute between the colonies and Great Britain. 
In all the constitutions thus formed, except that of Pennsylvania, the legis- 
lative power was vested in two branches.* 

Vermont did not become a member of the Union until 1791. That 
state was originally settled under grants from New Hampshire, and prin- 
cipally by the hardy yeomanry of New England, who became acquainted 
with the country in the war of 1756. It was a long time known by the 
name of " the New Hampshire grants," and its inhabitants were called 
" the green-mountain boys." It was claimed by New York, under the old 
• Pitkin's History of the United States. 



646 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

grant to the duke of York ; and in 1764, on an exparte application to the 
king and council, the country, as far east -as Connecticut river, was placed 
under the jurisdiction of that province. This was done without the 
knowledge and contrary to the wishes of the inhabitants, who at the rev- 
olution declared themselves independent, and in J777 established a tem- 
porary government. They afterward requested to be admitted a member 
of the confederacy, but were opposed by New Hampshire and New York, 
and Congress were unwilling to offend those states. A frame of state 
government was established July 4, 1786, and in 1790 New York was in- 
duced, by the payment of $30,000 to withdraw its claims, and in 1791 
Vermont was admitted into the Union. 

The following are the dates when the first constitutions of the old states 
were adopted : — 



New Hampshire, January 5 1776 

South Carolina, March 24 1776 

Virginia, June 29 1776 

New Jersey, July 2 1776 

Maryland, August 14 1776 

Pennsylvania, September 1776 



Delaware, September 1776 

North Carolina, December 1776 

New York, April 1777 

Massachusetts, March 1780 

Vermont, July 4 1786 

Georgia, May 1789 



A synopsis or outline of the principal features of the Constitutions of each 
of the United States. 

MAINE. 

The constitution of this state was formed in 1819, and went into oper- 
ation in 1820. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and a house of representa- 
tives, both elected annually by the people, on the second Monday of Sep- 
tember. These two bodies are together- styled the Legislature of Maine. 

The number of representatives can not be less than 100, nor more than 
200. A town having 1,500 inhabitants is entitled to send one representa- 
tive ; having 3,750, two; 6,775, three; 10,500, four; 15,000, five; 
20,250, six ; 26,250, seven ; but no town can ever be entitled to more 
than seven representatives. The number of senators can not be less than 
twenty, nor more than thirty-one. 

The legislature meets (at Augusta) annually, in the month of May; it 
formerly met in January. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected annually 
by the people, on the second Monday in September, and his term of office 
commences on the first Wednesday in January. A council of seven mem- 
bers is elected annually, by joint ballot of the senators and representatives, 
to advise the governor in the executive part of government. 

The right of suff'rage is granted to every male citizen aged twenty-one 
years or upward (excepting paupers, persons under guardianship, and In- 
dians not taxed), having had his residence established in the state for the 
term of three months next preceding an election. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme judicial court, and such 
other courts as the legislature may, from time to time, establish. All the 
judges are appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the 
council ; and they hold their ofllces during good behavior, but not beyond 
the age of seventy years. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 647 

NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

A constitution was established in 1784; and in 1792, this constitution 
was altered and amended by a convention of delegates held at Concord, 
and is now in force. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, which, together, are styled the General Court of Neio Hampshire. 

Every town, or incorporated township, having 150 ratable polls, may 
send one representative ; and for every 300 additional polls, it is entitled 
to an additional rejiresentative. 

The senate consists of twelve members, who are chosen by the people 
in districts. 

The executive power is vested in a governor and a council, which con- 
sists of five members. 

The governor, council, senators, and representatives, are all elected an- 
nuall}'-, by the people, on the second Tuesday in March, and their term 
of service commences on the first Wednesday in June. 

The general court meets annually (at Concord) on the first Wednesday 
in June. 

The right of suffrage is granted to every male inhabitant of twenty-one 
years of age, excepting paupers, and persons excused from paying taxes 
at their own request. 

The judiciary power is vested in a superior court, and a court of com- 
mon pleas. The judges are appointed by the governor and council, and 
hold their offices during good behavior, but not beyond the age of seventy 
years. 

VERMONT. 

The first constitution of this state was formed in 1777, and revised in 
1786 ; the one now in operation was adopted on the 4th of July, 1793 , 
and an amendment establishing a senate was adopted in January, 1836. 

The legislative power is now vested in a senate and house of represen- 
tatives, elected by the people annually, on the first Tuesday in September. 

The senate consists of thirty members ; each county being entitled to 
at least one, and the remainder to be apportioned according to population ; 
and the house of representatives is composed of one member from each 
town. The senators must be thirty years of age, and the lieutenant-gov- 
ernor is ex-officio president of the senate. 

The legislature is styled the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, 
and meets annually, on the second Thursday of October, at Montpelier. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, or, in his absence, a lieu- 
tenant-governor, both elected annually by the people, on the first Tuesday 
in September, and their term of office expires on the second Thursday in 
October. 

The judiciary powers are vested in a supreme court, consisting of five 
judges, chosen every year by the legislature ; in a county court, consisting 
of three judges, chosen in the same manner (one of the judges of the su- 
preme court being chief-justice), who hold courts twice a year, in their 
respective counties, and in justices of the peace, appointed in the same 
manner. . 

The constitution grants the right of suffrage to every man, of the full 
age of twenty-one years, who has resided in the state for the space of one 
whole year, next before the election of representatives, and is of quiet and 
peaceable behavior. 

A council of censors, consisting of thirteen persons, are chosen every 



648 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

seven years (first elected in 1799), on the last Wednesday in March, and 
meet on the first Wednesday in June. Their duty is to inquire whether 
the constitution has been preserved inviolate ; whether the legislative and 
executive branches of government have performed their duty as guardians 
of the people ; whether the public taxes have been justly laid and col- 
lected ; in what manner the public moneys have been disposed of ; and 
whether the laws have been duly executed. 

MASSACHUSETTS. 

The constitution of this state was formed in 1780, and amended, by a 
state convenlion and the people, in 1821. Several amendments have since 
been recommended by the legislature, and adopted b)'' the people. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, which together are styled the General Court of Massachusetts. 

The senate consists of forty members, who are chosen annually by the 
people, by districts, or counties, according to population. 

The house of representatives consists of members chosen annually by 
the cities and towns, according to population, every town having 300 ra- 
table p()lls electing one representative, and for every 450 more, one addi- 
tional representative. Any town having less than 300 polls, to be repre- 
sented as many years within ten years, as 300 is contained in the product 
of the number of polls in said town, multiplied by ten. When there is a 
surplus of polls over a sufficiency for one or more representatives, multi- 
ply the surplus by ten, and divide by 450, and the quotient will show how 
many years of the decennial period the town shall be allowed an addi- 
tional representative. 

The supreme executive magistrate is styled the Governor of the Com- 
monwealth of Massachusetts, and has the title of " His Excellency." The 
governor is elected annually by the people, and at the same time a lieu- 
tenant-governor is chosen, who has the title of " His Honor." The gov- 
ernor is assisted in the executive department, particularly in appointments 
to office, by a council of nine members, who are chosen by the joint ballot 
of the senators and representatives, from the senators ; and in case the 
persons elected councillors decline the appointment, others are chosen by 
the legislature from the people at large. 

The annual election is held on the second Monday in November, and 
the general court meets at Boston, on the first Wednesday of January. 

The right of suffrage is granted to every male citizen twenty-one years 
of age and upward (excepting paupers and persons under guardianship), 
who has resided within the commonwealth one year, and within the town 
or district in which he may claim a right to vote, six calendar months next 
precedmg any election, and who has paid a state or county tax, assessed 
upon him within two years next preceding such election ; and also every 
citizen who may be by law exempted from taxation, and who may be in 
all other respects qualified as abovementioned. 

The judiciary is vested in a supreme court, a court of common pleas, 
and such other courts as the legislature may establish. The judges are 
appointed by the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the 
council, and hold their offices during good behavior. 

RHODE ISLAND. 

The charter granted to the colony of Rhode Island, by King Charles 
11., in 1663, formed the basis of the state government, until the present 



SVNTOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 649 

constitntion was framed, which was adopted in November, 1842, and went 
into effect on the first Tuesday of May, 1843. 

I3y this constitution the legislative power is vested in a senate and 
house of representatives, who are together styled the General Assembly of 
the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 

The senate consists of the governor, lieutenant-governor, and one sen- 
ator from each of the thirty-one towns in the state. 

The house of representatives consists of sixty-nine members, appor- 
tioned among the towns according to population. Each town is to have 
at least one, and no town more than twelve representatives. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, being, with the lieuten- 
ant-governor, senators, and representatives, elected annually by the people, 
on the first Wednesday of April, for the year commencing the first Tues- 
day of May, when the general assembly meets at Newport ; and adjourned 
sessions are held alternately at Providence, East Greenwich, and Bristol. 
The judges and other public officers, except those chosen by the people, 
are appointed annually by the general assembly. 

The judicial powers are vested in a supreme court, consisting of a chief- 
justice and three associate justices, who hold their offices until they are 
removed by a resolution passed by both houses of the assembly, and in a 
court of common pleas for each county, consisting of a justice of the su- 
preme court, and two associate justices. 

The right of suffrage is vested in all male native citizens of the United 
States, who have resided in the state two years, and in the tovv'n where 
they propose to vote, six months ; who have been registered in the town 
clerk's office at least seven days before the election ; have paid within one 
year a tax of one dollar, or have done military duty within the preceding 
year; likewise, in all male citizens (naturalized foreigners) of the United 
States, who in addition to the preceding qualifications, possess real estate 
in the town or city, worth $134 over all incumbrances, or which rents for 
$7 per annum. 

CONNECTICUT. 

The charter granted in 1662 by Charles II., formed the basis of the 
government of Connecticut till 1818, when the present constitution was 
framed. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, which together are styled the General Assembly. 

The members of the house of representatives are chosen by the differ- 
ent towns in the stale ; the more ancient towns, the majority of the whole 
number, send each two representatives ; the rest only one each. The 
present number is 220. 

The senate must consist of not less than eighteen, nor more than twenty- 
four members, who are chosen by districts. The present number is 
twenty-one. 

The executive power is vested in a governor. A lieutenant-governor is 
also chosen, who is president of the senate, and on whom the duties of 
the governor devolve, in case of his death, resignation, or absence. 

The representatives, senators, governor, and lieutenant-governor, are all 
elected annually by the people, on the first Monday in April. 

The general assembly has one stated session every year, on the first 
Wednesday in May, alternately at Hartford and at New Haven. 

Every while male citizen of the United Slates, who shall have gained 



650 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

a settlement in this state, attained the ao;e of twenty-one years, and resi- 
ded in the town in which he may offer himself to be admitted to the priv- 
ilege of an elector, at least six months preceding, and have a freehold es- 
tate of the yearly value of seven dollars, in this state ; or having been 
enrolled in the militia, shall have performed military duty therein for the 
term of one year next preceding the time he shall offer himself for admis- 
sion, or being liable thereto, shall have been, by authority of law, excused 
therefrom ; or shall have paid a state tax within the year next preceding 
the time he shall present himself for such admission, and shall sustain a 
good moral character ; shall, on the taking such an oath as may be pre- 
scribed by law, be an elector. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of errors, a superior 
court, and such inferior courts as the general assembly may, from time to 
time, establish. The judges are appointed by the general assembly ; and 
those of the supreme and superior courts hold their offices during good be- 
havior, but not beyond the age of seventy years. 

No person is compelled to join, support, or to be classed with, or asso- 
ciated to, any congregation, church, or religious association. But every 
person may be compelled to pay his proportion of the expenses of the so- 
ciety to which he may belong; he may, however, separate himself from 
the society by leaving a written notice of his wish with the clerk of such 
society. 

NEW YORK. 

The present constitution of the state of New York, was formed in 1846. 

Every male citizen, twenty-one years of age, ten days a citizen, one 
year next preceding any election an inhabitant of the state, for the last 
four months a resident of the county where he may offer his vote, and for 
thirty days next preceding the election, a resident of the district of his 
candidate, may vote in the election district of which he shall at the time 
be a resident, and not elsewhere. No man of color shall vote unless he 
shall have been for three years a resident of the state, and, for one year 
next preceding the election, shall have owned a freehold worth two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars above all incumbrances, and shall have paid a tax 
thereon. And no person of color shall be taxed unless he shall own such 
real estate. Persons convicted of any infamous crime, and those who 
have made, or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet upon an 
election, may by a law be deprived of their vote therein. 

The state shall be divided into thirty-two districts, each of which shall 
choose one senator to serve for two years. A census of the state shall 
be taken in 1855, and in every ten years afterward. The legislature, at 
the next session after such census, shall reorganize the districts on the 
basis of population, excluding aliens and persons of color not taxed ; and 
the districts shall remain unaltered until the next census. Members of 
the assembly, one hundred and twenty-eight in number, and apportioned 
among the several counties according to the population, excluding aliens 
and persons of color not taxed, shall be elected annually and by single 
districts. Each county, except Hamilton, shall have at least one member 
of the assembly ; and no new county shall be made unless its population 
entitle it to a member. The pay of the senators and representatives shall 
not be more than three dollars a day, with one dollar for every ten miles 
of travel, nor exceed in the whole three dollars per diem allowance. In 
extra sessions it shall be three dollars a day. The speaker shall receive 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 651 

one third additional to his per-diem allowance. No member of the legis- 
ture sliall, during his term, be appointed to any office ; and no one holding 
office under the United States, and no member of Congress shall belong 
to the legislature. The election shall be on the Tuesday succeeding the 
first Monday in November; and the legislature shall assemble on the first 
Tuesday of the following .January. The assembly may impeach by a ma- 
jority vote of all the members elected. 

The governor and lieutenant-governor, chosen by a plurality of votes, 
shall hold office for two years. In case two persons have an equal and 
the highest vote, the legislature, at its next session, by joint ballot shall 
decide between them. They must be thirty years old, citizens of the 
United States, and have been, for five years next preceding their election, 
residents in the state. The governor may veto a bill ; but two thirds of 
both houses may pass it again, notwithstanding his veto. The lieutenant- 
governor shall be president of the senate, with only a casting vote ; and 
if the office of governor be vacant, he, and, after him, the president of 
the senate, shall act as governor. The secretary of state, comptroller, 
treasurer, attorney-general, state-engineer, and surveyor, shall be chosen 
at a general election, and hold office for two years. The treasurer may 
be suspended from office by the governor, during the recess of the legis- 
lature, and until thirty days after the beginning of the next session. At 
the first election, three canal commissioners, and three inspectors of pris- 
ons shall be chosen, to hold office one, two, and three years, respectively, 
as shall be determined by lot ; and afterward one shall be elected annu- 
ally to hold office for three years. The inspectors shall have charge of 
the stateprisons, and shall appoint all officers therein. 

The court of appeals shall consist of eight judges, four to be elected 
by the people of the state, to serve eight years, and four selected from the 
justices of the supreme court, having the shortest time to serve. The 
judges shall be so classified that every two years one shall leave office, 
and a new judge be elected to serve eight years. The state shall be divi- 
ded into eight judicial districts, of which New York city shall be one ; 
where the number of judges is to be fixed by law. The other districts 
shall each elect four justices of the supreme court to serve eight years. 
The justices shall have general jurisdiction in law and equity, and shall 
be so classified that every two years one in each district shall go out of 
office. Each county, except the city and county of New York, shall elect 
one county judge for four years, who shall act as surrogate and hold the 
county court. Counties of more than forty thousand inhabitants may elect 
a separate surrogate. Towns may elect justices of the peace to serve four 
years. Cities may have inferior local courts of civil and criminal jurisdic- 
tion. Tribunals of conciliation may be established whose judgment shall be 
binding only upon parties who voluntarily submit their matters in dispute, 
and agree to abide the result. A clerk of the court of appeals, to be ex- 
officio clerk of the supreme court, shall be chosen by the people for three 
years. Sherifl's, county-clerks, coroners, and district attorneys, shall be 
chosen by counties once in three years, and as often as vacancies happen. 
Sheriffs shall hold no other o'ffice, and be ineligible for the next three years 
after the termination of their office. 

From June 1, 1846, there shall be paid each year out of the net reve- 
nue of the state canals, one million, three hundred thousand dollars, until 
June 1, 1855 ; and from that time one million, seven hundred thousand 
dollars a year, as a sinking fund for the payment of the canal debt of the 



652 _ SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

State. Afterward, from the remaining revrpniies of the canals, there shall be 
paid from Jnne 1, 1846, until the canal debt is extincruished, three hun- 
dred and fifty thousand dollars a year ; and afterward, one million, five 
hundred thousand dollars a year, for the redemption of the general fund 
and all contingent debts. Of the balance of the canal revenues, a sum not 
above two hundred thousand dollars a year (which may, if necessary, after 
eight j^ears be increased to three hundred and fifty thousand dollars per 
annum, and which, after the above debts are paid, and certain now unfin- 
ished canals completed, may be still further increased to six hundred and 
seventy two thousand, five hundred dollars a year), shall be devoted to pay 
the necessary expenses of the state ; and the balance shall be expended 
to complete the still unfinished canals. The principal and income of these 
sinking funds shall be sacredly applied to the purposes for which they 
were created ; and, if either proves insufficient, its revenues shall be suf- 
ficiently increased by taxes to preserve perfectly the public faith. The 
state canals shall never be sold, leased, or otherwise disposed of. 

The state shall never give its credit to any individual or corporation ; 
nor shall it ever contract a debt, except to meet casual deficits in the rev- 
enue, or to suppress insurrection, or for defence in war, unless such debt 
be authorized for some single work by a law which shall provide by a di- 
rect annual tax, to be irrepealable until the debt is extinguished, for the 
payment of the interest annually, and of the principal within eighteen 
years, and which shall be passed by yeas and nays, and be submitted to 
the people, and receive a majority of all the votes at a general election, 
to be held not less than three months after its passage, and at which no 
other law or any amendment to the constitution is voted for; and, on its 
final passage by the legislature, the question shall be taken by yeas and 
nays, and three fifths of all the members elected shall form a quorum. All 
moneys arising from such loan shall be applied only to the objects of the 
loan. No payment shall be made out of the funds of the state, unless by 
a law distinctly specifying the sum and object of the appropriation. Pub- 
lic moneys or property can not be appropriated for local or private pur- 
poses, except by a two thirds vote of the members elected to each branch 
of the legislature. 

Corporations, with the individual liability of the corporators, may be 
formed under general laws which may be altered or repealed. They shall 
not be created by special act, except for municipal purposes, and when 
the objects of the corporation can not be gained under general laws. No 
special charter shall be granted for banking purposes ; and after January 
1, 1850, stockholders in banks shall be individually liable, to the amount 
of their stock, for debts incurred after that date. If a bank is insolvent, 
the bill-holders shall be preferred creditors. 

The capital of the common school and literary funds shall be preserved 
inviolate, and its revenue applied to the support of common schools and 
academies. All persons, from scruples of conscience, averse to bearing 
arms, shall be excused therefrom upon such conditions as may be pre- 
scribed by law. No one shall be incompetent as a witness on account 
of his opinions upon religion. In all libel cases the truth may be given 
in evidence, and the jury shall have the right to decide the law and the 
fact. All feudal tenures, with all their incidents, are abolished ; except 
such rents and services certain as have been lawfully created or reserved. 
No lease or grant of agricultural land for more than twelve years, hereaf- 
ter made, in which any rent or service is reserved, shall be valid. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS, • G53 

Amendments to the constitution must be agreed to by a mnjority vote of 
the members elected to each of the two houses ; be entered on their jour- 
nals with the yeas and nays ; be referred to the legislature to be chosen at 
the next general election of senators, and published three months previous to 
such election ; be passed by a majority of all the members elected to this 
legislature ; be then submitted to the people, and if a majority approve the 
amendments, they shall become a part of the constitution. In 1866, and 
every twentieth year thereafter, and at such times as the legislature may 
provide, the question of a revision of the constitution shall be submitted to 
the people ; and, if a majority decide in favor of a convention, the legisla- 
ture at its next session shall provide for the election of delegates thereto. 

NEW JERSEY. 

The original constitution of New Jersey was formed in 1776, and no 
revision of it took place until the adoption of the present constitution, in 
1844, except that the legislature undertook to explain its provisions in 
particular parts. 

In May, 1844, a convention of delegates, chosen by the people, assem- 
bled at Trenton, and prepared the draught of anew constitution, which was 
submitted to the people on the 13th of August, was adopted by a large 
majority, and went into operation on the 2d of September, 1844. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and general assembly, who 
are styled the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey, 
under which title laws are enacted. 

The senate consists of one senator from each county, elected by the 
people for three years, one third going out each year. Their present 
number is nineteen. 

The general assembly consists of not more than sixty, chosen annually 
by the people of each county, by apportionment according to the number 
of inhabitants. 

The members of the senate and of the general assembly are elected on 
the second Tuesday of October, and meet at Trenton on the second Tues- 
day in the next January, when the legislative year commences. 

Charters for banks and money corporations require the assent of three 
fifths of the members elected to each house, and are limited to twenty 
years. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the people 
once in three years, at the general election. He has the power of nomi- 
nating and appointing to office, with the advice and consent of the senate, 
the chancellor, justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of errors 
and appeals, and all other officers not otherwise provided for by law. 

The judicial power is vested in a court of errors and appeals, com- 
posed of the chancellor, the judges of the supreme court, and six other 
judges ; a court for the trial of impeachments ; a court of chancery ; a 
supreme court, of five judges ; and courts of common pleas. The chan- 
cellor and judges of the supreme court hold their offices for seven years ; 
the six judges of the court of errors and appeals, for six years, one judge 
vacating his seat each year in rotation. 

The right of suffrage is exercised by every white male citizen of the 
United States, who has resided in the state one year, and in the county 
where he votes five months (paupers, idiots, insane persons, and criminals 
excepted). 



654 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

PENNSYLVANIA. 

The first constitution of Pennsylvania was adopted in 1776 ; a second 
one in 1790 ; and the present amended constitution was adopted in 1838. 

The legislative power is vested in a general assembly, consisting of a 
senate and house of representatives. 

The senators are chosen for three years, one third being elected annu- 
ally, by the people, by districts. Their number can not be greater than 
one third, nor less than one fourth of the number of representatives. The 
present number is thirty-three. 

The representatives are chosen annually on the second Tuesday of Oc- 
tober, by the citizens of Philadelphia, and each county respectively, ap- 
portioned according to the number of taxable inhabitants. The number 
can not be less than sixty nor more than one hundred ; which latter is 
the present number chosen. 

The general assembly meets annually at Harrisburg, on the first Tues- 
day of January, unless sooner convened by the governor. 

The supreme executive power is vested in a governor, who is chosen 
on the 2d Tuesday in October, and who holds his office during three 
years from the third Tuesday of January next after his election ; and he 
can not hold it longer than six years in any term of nine years. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, in courts of oyer and 
terminer, and general jail delivery, in a court of common pleas, orphans' 
court, register's court, and court of quarter sessions of the peace for each 
county, in justices of the peace, and in such other courts as the legislature 
may from time to time establish. 

The judges of the supreme court, court of common pleas, and other 
courts of record, are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the 
senate — the judges of the supreme court for fifteen years ; the president 
judges of the court of common pleas, and other courts of record, for tea 
years ; and the associate judges of the courts of common pleas, for five 
years. 

The right of suffrage is exercised by every white freeman of the age 
of twenty-two years, having resided in the state one year, and in the elec- 
tion district where he offers his vote ten days immediately preceding such 
election, and within two years paid a state or county tax, which shall 
have been assessed at least ten days before the election. White freemen, 
citizens of the United States, between the ages of twenty-one and twenty- 
two years, having resided in the state one year, may vote without paying 
taxes. 

DELAWARE. 

The constitution was formed in 1792, and amended in 1831. 

The legislature is styled the General Assembly, and consists of a senate 
and house of representatives. 

The senators are nine in number, namely, three from each county, and 
are elected for a term for four years. 

The representatives are elected for a term of two years, and are twenty- 
one in number, seven from each county. 

The general assembly meets at Dover, biennially, on the first Tuesday 
in January, unless sooner convened by the governor. 

The general election is held biennially, on the second Tuesday in No« 
vember. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people for a term of four years, and is not eligible for a second term. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. G55 

The judicial power is vested in a court of errors and appeals, a supe- 
rior court, a court of chancery, an orphans' court, a court of oyer and ter- 
miner, a court of general sessions of the peace and jail delivery, a regis- 
ter's court, justices of the peace, and such other courts as the general 
assembly may, by a vote of two thirds of each house, establish. 

The right of suffrage is granted to every white male citizen of the age 
of twenty-two years, or upward, having resided in the state one year next 
before the election, and the last month in the county where he votes ; and 
having within two years paid a county tax. Also, to every white male 
citizen over twenty-one, and under twenty-two years of age, having resi- 
ded as aforesaid, without payment of any tax. 

MARYLAND. 

The constitution of this state was first formed in 1776, since which time 
many amendments have been made by the legislature, which has the 
power, if amendments are passed by one legislature and confirmed by the 
next in succession. 

By the constitution as it stands at present, the legislative power is 
vested in a senate consisting of twenty-one members, and a house of rep- 
resentatives of seventy-nine members, and these two branches united are 
styled the General Assembly of Alary land. 

The senators are elected by the people, one from each county, and one 
from the city of Baltimore, and hold their seats for six years, one third 
being chosen annually. 

The members of the house of delegates are elected annually by the 
people ; the city of Baltimore to send six delegates ; counties having more 
than 35,000 inhabitants, six delegates ; less than 35,000 and more than 
25,000, five delegates ; less than 25,000 and more than 15,000, four dele- 
gates ; less than 15,000, three delegates. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is chosen by the 
people, and holds his office for three years from the first Monday of Jan- 
uary, but is ineligible for the next succeeding term. The state is divided 
into three districts, and the governor is taken from each of the districts, 
alternately. The governor nominates, and with the consent of the senate, 
appoints all officers whose offices are created by law. 

The annual election is held on the first Wednesday in October, and the 
general assembly meets at Annapolis, on the last Monday in December. 

The judicial power is vested in a court of chancery, a court of appeals 
of six judges, county courts, and orphans' courts. The state is divided 
into six judicial districts, and for each district there are a chief judge and 
two associates, who constitute the county courts for the respective coun- 
ties in the district. The six chief judges constitute the court of appeals 
for the state. The chancellor and judges hold their offices during good 
behavior. 

The constitution grants the right of suffrage to every free, white male 
citizen, above twenty-one years of age, having resided twelve months in 
the state, and six months in the county, or in the city of Annapolis or Bal- 
timore, next preceding the election at which he offers to vote. 

VIRGINIA. 

The old constitution of this state was formed in 1776, and continued in 
operation until 1830, when the present amended constitution was formed 
by a convention, and accepted by the people. 



656 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

By this constitution the legislative power is vested in a senate and a 
house of delegates, which are together styled the General Assembly of 
Virgiiiia. 

The house of delegates consists of 134 members, chosen annually; 
thirty-one from the twenty-six counties west of the Allegany mountains ; 
twenty-five from the fourteen counties between the Allegany mountains 
and Blue Ridge, forty-two from the twenty-nine counties east of the Blue 
Ridge, and above tide-water, and thirty-six from the counties, cities, 
towns and boroughs, lying upon tide-water. 

.The senate consists of thirty-two members ; thirteen from the counties 
west of the Blue Ridge, and nineteen from the counties, cities, towns, 
and boroughs, east thereof. The senators are elected for four years ; and 
the seats of one fourth of them are vacated every year. In all elections 
to any office or place of trust, honor, or profit, the votes are given openly, 
or viva voce, and not by ballot. 

A reapportionment for representation in both houses, is to take place 
every ten years, commencing in 1841, until which time there is to be no 
change in the number of delegates and senators from the several divisions, 
and after 1841, the number of delegates is never to exceed 150, nor that 
of the senators 36. 

The time of election of delegates is fixed by the general assembly, and 
at present takes place in April. 

The general assembly meets annually at Richmond, on the first Monday 
in December. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the joint vote 
of the two houses of the general assembly. He holds his office three 
years, commencing on the first of January next succeeding his election, 
or on such other days as may be from time to time prescribed by law ; 
and he is ineligible for the three years next after the expiration of his 
term of office. 

There is a council of state, consisting of three members, elected for 
three years by the joint vote of the two houses, the seat of one being va- 
cated annually. The senior councillor is lieutenant-governor. 

The judges of the supreme court of appeals and of the superior courts, 
are elected by a joint vote of both houses of the general assemldy, and 
hold their offices during good behavior, or until removed by a concurrent 
vote of both houses ; but two thirds of the members present must concur 
in such vote, and the cause of removal be entered on the journals of each 
house. 

The right of suffrage is extended to every white male citizen of the 
commonwealth, resident therein, aged twenty-one years and upward, who 
is qualified to exercise the right of suffrage according to the former con- 
stitution and laws ; or who owns a freehold of the value of twenty-five 
dollars ; or who has a joint interest to the amount of tweniy-five dollars, 
in a freehold ; or who has a life estate in, or reversionary title to, land of 
the value of fifty dollars, having been so possessed for six munihs ; or 
who shall own and be in the actual occupation of a leasehold estate, hav- 
ing the title recorded two moiiths before he shall offer to vote — of a term 
originally not less than five years, and of the annual value or rent of two 
hundred dollars ; or who for twelve months before ofi^ering to vote, has 
been a housekeeper and head of a family, and shall have been assessed 
with a part of the revenue of the commonwealth, within the preceding 
year, and actually paid the same. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 657 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

The constitution of North Carolina was originally framed and adopted 
in December, 1776, and certain amendments agreed upon by a convention 
in 1835, and ratified by the people, went into operation on the first of 
January, 1836. 

The legislative power is vested in a body styled the General Assembly, 
consisting of a senate and house of commons, both elected biennially by 
the people. 

The senate consists of fifty members, elected by districts, laid off and 
apportioned according to the amount of taxes paid by the citizens into the 
treasury of the state. 

The house of commons consists of one hundred and twenty members, 
chosen by counties, according to their federal population, that is, according 
to their respective numbers, determined by adding to the whole number 
of free persons (including those bound to service for a term of years, and 
excluding Indians not taxed) three fifths of all other persons (slaves). 

All freemen (people of color excepted) of the age of twenty-one years, 
who have been inhabitants of any one district within the state for twelve 
months preceding the day of any election, and are possessed of a freehold 
within the same district, of fifty acres of land, for six months next before 
and at the day of election, are entitled to vote for senators. The constitu- 
tion grants the right of voting for governor and members of the house of 
commons, to all freemen of the age of twenty-one years, who have been 
inhabitants of the state twelve months immediately preceding the election. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people biennially ; is to enter on the duties of his office on the first day 
of January next after his election ; but he is not eligible more than four 
years in any term of six years. He is assisted by a council of state of 
seven persons, elected by the legislature. 

The time of holding the election for governor and members of the gen- 
eral assembly, is appointed by the legislature ; at present it is fixed for the 
first Thursday in August, biennially. All elections by the people are by 
ballot. The general assembly meets biennially, at Raleigh, on the third 
Monday in November. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of three judges, and in 
a superior or circuit court of seven judges ; besides inferior courts. The 
state rs divided into seven circuits, in which the superior court is held 
half yearly in the several counties. As judges of the superior courts of 
law they have jurisdiction of all pleas, whether brought before them by 
original or mesne process, or by certiorari writs of error, or appeal from 
any inferior court, also of all pleas of the state, and criminal matters. As 
judges of the courts of equity, they have all the powers of courts of chan- 
cery. The judges of the supreme and superior courts are elected by the 
legislature, in joint ballot, and hold their offices during good behavior. 

SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The first constitution of this state was formed in 1775 ; the present 
constitution was adopted in 1790. 

The legislative authority is vested in a general assembly, consisting of 
a senate and a house of representatives. 

The senate consists of forty-five members, who are elected by districts 
for four years, one half being chosen biennially. 
42 



658 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

The house of representatives consists of one hundred and twenty-four 
members, who are apportioned among the several districts, according to 
the number of white inhabitants and taxation, and are elected for two 
years. The representatives and one half of the senators are chosen every 
second year, on the second Monday in October, and the day following. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected for two 
years, by a joint vote of the senate and house of representatives, at every 
first meeting of the house of representatives. A governor, after having 
performed the duties of the office for two years, can not be re-elected till 
after the expiration of four years. 

At the time of the election of governor, a lieutenant-governor is chosen 
in the same manner, and for the same period. 

The general assembly meets annually, at Columbia, on the fourth Mon- 
day in November. 

The judicial power is vested in such superior and inferior courts of law 
and equity as the legislature shall, from time to time, direct and establish. 
In December, 1835, a change was made in the judiciary, though the judges 
remained the same. The old court of appeals of three judges was abol- 
ished, and two of the judges were made chancellors in equity, and the 
other one of the common law judges. The present court of appeals is 
constituted of the judges of the courts of law, and chancellors, who meet 
twice a year at Columbia, and twice a year at Charleston. There are four 
chancellors in equity, and seven judges of the general sessions and com- 
mon pleas. The chancellor and judges are appointed by joint ballot 
of the senate and house of representatives, and hold their offices during 
good behavior. 

The constitution grants the right of suffrage to every free white male 
citizen, of the age of twenty-one years, having resided in the state two 
years previous to the day of election, and having been possessed of a 
freehold of fifty acres of land, or a town lot, at least six months before 
such election, or (not having such freehold or town lot) having been a res- 
ident in the election district in which he offers his vote, six months before 
said election, and having paid a tax the preceding year, of three shillings 
sterling toward the support of the government. 

GEORGIA. 

The first constitution of Georgia was formed in 1777; a second in 
1785 ; and a third, the one now in operation, in 1798. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, which together are styled the General Assembly. 

The members of both houses are chosen annually, by the people, on 
the first Monday in October. The number of representatives is in propor- 
tion to population, including three fifths of all the people of color ; but each 
county is entitled to at least one member. The constitution was altered 
by the legislature in 1844, so as to divide the state into forty-seven senato- 
rial districts, and to reduce the number of representatives from 20 J to 130. 
The legislature have the power of altering the constitution, provided two 
thirds of each branch agree on amendments proposed by one legislature, 
and confirmed by their successors by a two-third vote, at the following 
session. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who was formerly elected 
by the general assembly; but he is now (and since 1824) elected by 



STNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. C59 

the people, on tlie first Monday in October ; and he holds the office for 
two years. 

The general assembly meets at MilledgeviUe, on the first Monday in 
November, unless convened at another time by the governor. 

The judicial power is vested in a superior court, and in such inferior ju- 
risdictions as the legislature may, from time to time, ordain and establish ; 
and the superior and inferior courts sit twice in each county every year. 
The state is divided into eleven circuits, with a judge of the superior 
court for each circuit. An inferior court is held in each county, composed 
of five justices, elected by the people every four years. These courts 
possess the powers of courts of probate. The judges of the superior 
court are elected by the legislature for three years ; the justices of the 
inferior courts, and justices of the peace are elected quadrennially by the 
people ; and the clerks of the superior and inferior courts, biennially. 

The constitution grants the right of suffrage to all citizens and inhabit- 
ants who have attained the age of twenty-one years, and have paid all the 
taxes which may have been required of them, and which they may have 
had opportunity of paying, agreeably to law, for the year preceding the 
election, and shall have resided six months within the county. 

FLORIDA. 

The constitution of this state was formed by a convention of delegates 
chosen by the people, and was adopted by said convention in January, 
1839, but Florida remained under a territorial government until the 3d of 
March, 1845, when it was admitted into the Union as a state by act of 
Congress. 

The legislative power is vested in a General Assembly, consisting of a 
senate and house of representatives. The senators are elected by the 
people, in districts, for two years, one half of the number going out of 
office every year. The present number of senators is seventeen. The 
representatives are elected by the people, by counties, annually, their 
number never to exceed sixty ; at present, forty-one are chosen. The 
annual election takes place on the first Monday in October, and the 
legislature meets at Tallahassee on the first Monday in November of each 
year. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is chosen by the 
people once in four years, and he is not eligible for the four years next 
succeeding his term of office. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, having appellate juris- 
diction only, and composed of the circuit judges for five years after the 
election of those judges, and thereafter until the general assembly shall 
otherwise provide ; also in circuit courts, the state being divided into four 
circuits, in each of which a judge of the supreme court has jurisdiction. 
These judges have also equity powers until a separate chancery court 
shall be established by the legislature. The judges are elected by the 
legislature, at first for five years ; after that term, during good behavior. 
There are also courts of probate, held by a judge of probate, one being 
appointed for each county in the state. 

The right of suffrage may be exercised by every free white male, aged 
twenty-one years, or upward, who has resided in Florida for two years, 
and in the county for six months, and who shall be enrolled in the militia, 
or by law exempted from serving therein. The general assembly shall 
provide for the registration of all qualified voters. 



660 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

No laws shall be passed to emancipate slaves, or to prohibit the immi- 
gration of persons bringing slaves with them. The general assembly 
may prevent free colored persons from entering the state. 

No act of incorporation shall be passed or altered, except by the assent 
of two thirds of each branch of the legislature. No bank charter shall 
be granted for more tlian twenty years, nor shall it ever be extended or 
renewed. The capital of a bank shall not exceed one hundred thousand 
dollars, nor shall a dividend be made, exceeding ten per cent, a year. 
Stockholders shall be individually liable for the debts of the bank, and no 
notes shall be issued for less than five dollars. The credit of the state 
shall not be pledged in aid of any corporation whatsoever. 

For an amendment of the constitution, two thirds of both houses of the 
general assembly must assent ; the proposed alteration must then be pub- 
lished six months before the succeeding election, and then be again ap- 
proved by a two-third vote in the succeeding assembly. 

ALABAMA. 

The legislative power is vested in two branches, a senate and house of 
representatives, which together are styled, the General Assembly of the 
State of Alabama. 

The representatives are elected annually, and are apportioned among 
the different counties in proportion to the Avhite population ; the whole 
number can not exceed one hundred, nor fall short of sixty. The present 
number is one hundred. The senators are elected for three years, and 
one third of them are chosen every year. Their number can not be more 
than one third, nor less than one fourth of the number of representatives. 
There are thirty-three at present. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people for two years ; and is eligible four years out of six. 

The representatives and one third of the senators are elected annually 
on the first Monday in August, and the day following ; and the governor 
is elected biennially at the same time. 

The general assembly meets annually, formerly at Tuscaloosa, in future 
at Montgumery, on the fourth Monday in October. 

The right of suffrage is possessed by every white male citizen of twenty- 
one years of age, who has resided within the state one year preceding an 
election, and the last three months within the county, city, or town, in 
which he offers his vote. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court (consisting of three jus- 
tices), which has appellate jurisdiction only; in a court of chancery, consist- 
ing of three chancellors, the state being divided into three chancery dis- 
tricts ; in circuit courts, each held by one judge, the state being divided 
into eight circuits, and such inferior courts as the legislature may es- 
tablish. The judges of the supreme and circuit courts, and the chancel- 
lors, are elected by a joint vote of the two houses of the general assembly, 
for six years. 

MISSISSIPPI. 

The original constitution of this state was formed at the town of Wash- 
ington, near Natchez, in August, 1817; and the present revised constitu- 
tion was formed by a convention, at Jackson, in October, 1832. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, together styled the Legislature of Mississippi. The senators are 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 661 

cliosen for four years, by the people, by districts, one half being elected 
biennially ; and their number can not be less than one fourth, nor more 
than one third of the whole number of representatives. 

The representatives are chosen by the people, by counties, every two 
years, on the first Monday in November, and the day following ; their 
number not to be less than thirty-six nor more than one hundred, which" 
last is the present number fixed. The legislature meets at Jackson, on 
the first Monday in January, biennially. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is chosen by the 
people, qualified as electors, for two years, and can not hold the office 
more than four years, in any term of six years. The secretary of state, 
treasurer, and auditor of public accounts, are all chosen by the people, for 
two years. 

The judicial power is vested in a high court of errors and appeals, held 
at least twice a year, consisting of three judges, chosen by the people for 
six years, one being elected in each of the three districts into which the 
state is divided, and one of the three judges being chosen biennially ; in 
a circuit court, held in each county at least twice in each year, the judges 
being chosen by the people of each judicial district, and holding their 
office four years ; in a superior court of chancery, the chancellor being 
chosen by the people of the whole state for six years ; in a court of pro- 
bate, the judge being elected by the people of each county for two years ; 
justices of the peace and constables are also elected for two years. 

Every free white male person, of the age of twenty-one years or up- 
ward, who shall be a citizen of the United Stafes, and shall have resided 
in the state one year next preceding an election, and the last four months 
within the county, city, or town, in which he offers to vote, is a qualified 
elector. The mode of election is by ballot. 

LOUISIANA. 

The original constitution of this state was formed ia 1812, and the pres- 
ent revised constitution formed by a convention of delegates in May, 
1845, was accepted by the people in November, 1845. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, both together styled the General Assembly of the State of Louisiana. 

The senators are elected by the people, by districts, for a term of four 
years, one half being chosen every two years, at the time of the election 
of representatives. The present number of senators is thirty-two. 

The representatives are elected by the people by parishes, apportioned 
according to population, for a term of two years. Their present number 
is ninety-eight. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people for a term of four years ; and is ineligible for the next four years. 

The biennial elections are held in November, and the sessions of the 
legislature are to be held biennially, at such place as may be fixed upon 
by the legislature, which must not be at New Orleans, or within sixty 
miles of that city. The sessions are to commence in January, and the 
puriod of the session is limited to sixty days. 

The legislature is prohibited from granting any bank charters, or renew- 
ing any now in existence ; it is prohibited also from loaning the credit of 
the state, or borrov.'ing money, except in case of war, invasion, or insur- 
rectioQ. 



QQ2 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of five judges, whicli 
has appellate jurisdiction only, and such inferior courts as the legislature 
may establish. The state is divided into ten districts, in each of which 
there is a judge for the district courts. The life-tenure of the judges is 
abolished by the new constitution ; those of the supreme court are to be 
appointed for eight years, and of the lower courts for six years. Sheriffs, 
coroners, clerks of court and justices of the peace, are to be elected by 
the people. 

The right of suffrage is extended to all white males above twenty-one 
years of age, who have resided two consecutive years in the state ; pro- 
vided that no naturalized citizen can vote until two years after he becomes 
a citizen. 

All citizens are disfranchised, both as to voting and holding office, who 
may fight, or in any way be connected with fighting a duel, either in or 
out of the state. 

ARKANSAS. 

The constitution of this state was formed by a convention of delegates, 
at Little Rock, in January, 1836. 

The legislative power is vested in a general assembly, consisting of a 
senate and house of representatives. 

The senators are elected by the people, by districts, for a term of four 
years ; the representatives by counties, for two years. The senate con- 
sists of not less than seventeen nor more than thirty-three members ; the 
house of representatives of not less than fifty-four, nor more than one 
hundred members. 

The general elections are holden every two years, on the first Monday 
in October, and the general assembly meets biennially, at Little Rock, on 
the first Monday of November. All general elections are to be viva voce, 
until otherwise directed by law. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the people 
once in four years ; but he is not eligible for more than eight years in any 
term of twelve years. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of three justices, hav- 
ing appellate jurisdiction only, except in particular cases pointed out by 
the constitution ; in circuit courts, of which there are seven in the state, 
each held by one judge ; in county courts and justices of the peace. 

The judges of the supreme and circuit courts are chosen by the gene- 
ral assembly, the former for a terra of eight years, the latter for four years. 
Justices of the peace are elected by the people for a term of two years. 
Judges of the county courts are chosen by the justices of the peace. 

Every white male citizen of the United States, who has been a citizen 
of the state of Arkansas for six months, is deemed a qualified elector, 
and entitled to vote al elections. Provided that soldiers and seamen of 
Ihe array or navy of the United States are not so entitled. 

TENNESSEE. 

In 1796, the people of Tennessee, by a convention at Knoxville, formed 
a constitution ; and Tennessee was, the same year, admitted info the 
Union as an independent state. On the third Monday in May, 1834, a 
convention met at Nashville, for the pupose of revising and amending the 
constitution ; and the constitution, as amended by the convention^ was rat- 
ified by the people in March, 1835. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 663 

The legislative authority is vested in a general assembly, consistincr of 
a senate and house ot' representatives. 

The number of representatives is apportioned among the several 
counties, according to the number of qualified voters, and can not exceed 
seventy-five (the present number), until the population shall be a million 
and a half, and can never afterward exceed ninety-nine. 

The number of senators is apportioned among the several coun- 
ties according to the number of voters, and can not exceed one third of 
the number of representatives. The present number is twenty-five. 

The time for the election of the governor, senators, and representatives, 
is on the first Thursday in August, once in two years, and the time of the 
meeting of the general assembly is on the first Monday in October, next 
ensuing the election, at Nashville. 

The supreme executive power is vested in a governor, who is chosen 
by the people for two years, and is not eligible more than six years in any 
term of eight. 

Every free white man of the age of twenty-one years, being a citizen 
of the United States, and a citizen of the county wherein he may offer 
his vote, six months next preceding the day of election, is entitled to vote 
for civil officers. 

The judicial power is vested in one supreme court, and such inferior 
courts as the legislature may, from time to time, ordain and establish, and 
in the judges thereof, and in justices of the peace. 

The supreme court is composed of three judges, one of whom must re- 
side in each of the three grand divisions of the state. The judges are 
elected by a joint vote of both houses of the general assembly, those of 
the supreme court for the term of twelve years, and those of the inferior 
courts for eight years. Attorneys for the state are elected in the sam.e 
manner, for six years. 

Ministers of the gospel are not eligible to a seat in either house of the 
legislature. No person who denies the being of a God, or a future state 
of rewards and punishments, can hold any civil office. Lotteries are pro- 
hibited ; and persons who may be concerned in duels are disqualified for 
holding office in the state. 

KENTUCKY. 

On the separation of Kentucky from Virginia, in 1790, a constitution 
was adopted which continued in force till 1799, when a new one was 
formed instead of it ; and this is now in force. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representatives, 
which together are styled the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky. 

The representatives are elected annually, and are apportioned, every 
four years, among the different counties, according to the number of elec- 
tors. Their present number is one hundred, which is the highest number 
that the constitution authorizes ; fifty-eight being the lowest. 

The senators are elected for four years, one quarter of them being cho- 
sen annually. Their present number is thirty-eight ; and they can not 
exceed this number, nor fall short of twenty-four. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected for four 
years, and is ineligible for the succeeding seven years after the expiration 
of his term of office. At the election of governor, a lieutenant-governor is 



(564 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

also chosen, who is speaker of the senate, and on whom the duties of the 
governor devolve, in case of his absence or removal. 

The representatives and one quarter of the members of the senate are 
elected annually by the people, on the first Monday in August ; the gov- 
ernor is elected by the people, every fourth year, at the same time ; and 
he commences the execution of his office on the fourth Tuesday succeed- 
ing the day of the commencement of the election at which he is chosen. 
The polls are kept open three days ; and the votes are given openly, or 
viva voce, and not by ballot. 

The general assembly meets at Frankfort annually, on the first Monday 
in December. 

The constitution grants the right of suffrage to every free male citizen 
(people of color excepted) who has attained the age of twenty-one years, 
and has resided in the state two years, or in the county whete he offers 
his vote, one year, next preceding the election. 

The judiciary power is vested in a supreme court, styled the court of 
appeals, and in such inferior courts as the general assembly may, from 
time to time, erect and establish. The judges of the different courts, and 
justices of the peace, hold their offices during good behavior. 

OHIO. 

The constitution of this state was formed at Chillicothe, in 1802. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representatives, 
which together are style the General Assembly of the State of Ohio. 

The representatives are elected annually on the second Tuesday in 
October ; and they are apportioned among the counties according to the 
number of white male inhabitants above twenty-one years of age. Their 
number can not be less than thirty-six, nor more than seventy-two. 

The senators are chosen biennially, and are apportioned according to the 
number of white male inhabitants of twenty-one years of age. Their 
number can not be less than one third, nor more than one half of the num- 
ber of representatives. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people for two years on the second Tuesday in October ; and his term of 
service commences on the first Monday in December. 

The general assembly meets annually, at Colamhus, on the first Mon- 
day in December. 

The right of suffrage is granted to all white male inhabitants above the 
age of twenty-one years, who have resided in the state one year next pre- 
ceding the election, and who have paid, or are charged with, a state or 
county tax. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, in courts of common 
pleas for each county, and such other courts as the legislature may from 
time to time establish. The judges are elected by a joint ballot of both 
houses of the general assembly, for the term of seven years. 

INDIANA. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people, for a term of three years, and may be once re-elected. At every 
election of governor, a lieutenant-governor is also chosen, who is presi- 
dent of the senate, and on whom, in case of the death, resignation, or re- 
moval of the governor, the powers and duty of governor devolve. 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. GG5 

The legislative authority is vested in a General Assemhhj, consisting of 
a senate, the members of which are elected for three years, and a house 
of representatives, elected annually. 

The number of representatives can never be less than thirty-six, nor 
more than one hundred ; and they are apportioned among the several 
counties according to the number of white male inhabitants above twenty- 
one years of age. The number of senators, who are apportioned in lijie 
manner, can not be less than one third, nor more than one half, of the 
number of representatives. 

The representatives and one third of the members of the senate are 
elected annually, on the first Monday in August ; and the governor is cho- 
sen on the same day, every third year. 

The general assembly meets annually, at Indianapolis, on the first Mon- 
day in December. 

The right of suffrage is granted to all male citizens of the age of twen- 
ty-one years or upward, who may have resided in the state one year im- 
mediately preceding an election. 

The judiciary power is vested in one supreme court, in circuit courts, 
and in such other inferior courts as the general assembly may establish. 
The supreme court consists of three judges ; and each of the circuit 
courts consists of a president and two associate judges. The judges are 
all appointed for the term of seven years. The judges of the supreme 
court are appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate ; the 
presidents of the circuit courts, by the legislature ; and the associate 
judges are elected by the people. 

ILLINOIS. 

The original constitution of Illinois was framed in August, 1818. 
The present constitution was adopted by a state convention in August, 
1847, and accepted by the people in March, 1848. 

The legislative authority is vested in a general assembly, consisting of 
a senate, the members of which, twenty-five in number, are elected for 
four years, one half every two years ; and of a house of representatives, 
seventy-five in number, elected for two years. These numbers to be in- 
creased after the population of the state shall be one million, but the num- 
ber of representatives shall never exceed one hundred. Senators must be 
thirty years of age, and five years inhabitants of the state. Representa- 
tives must be twenty-five years of age, citizens of the United States, and 
three years inhabitants of the state. 

The governor and lieutenant-governor, chosen by a plurality of votes, 
once in four years, on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 
shall be thirty-five years of age, citizen of the United States for fourteen 
years, and residents of the state for ten years. The governor is notehgi- 
ble for two consecutive terms. A majority of members elected to both 
houses may defeat the governor's veto. A majority of the members 
elected to each house, is required for the passage of any law. 

The general assembly meets biennially at Springfield, on the first Mon- 
day in January ; and the governor is authorized to convene it on extraor- 
dinary occasions at other times. 

All white male citizens, twenty-one years old, resident in the state for 
one year, may vote at elections. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of three judges, elected 



6G6 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

by the people, for a term of nine years at the first election, and afterward 
for three years ; also in circuit courts of one judge each, elected by the 
people in nine judicial circuits into which the state is divided ; and county 
courts of one judge each elected by the people for four years. 

No state-bank can be created or revived. Acts creating banks must be 
submitted to the people. Stockholders are individually liable to the 
amount of their shares. Slavery and lotteries are prohibited. The credit 
of the state can not be lent. Corporations, not for banking purposes, may 
be established under general laws. 

MICHIGAN. 

The constitution of Michigan was formed by a convention of delegates 
at Detroit, in May, 1835, and ratified by the people in October following. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives. The senators are elected by the people, by districts, for a term of 
two years, one half of the whole number, as nearly as may be, being 
chosen annually. The representatives are elected by the people, by 
covmties, annually, and their number can not be less than forty-eight, nor 
more than one hundred ; the senators at all times are to be equal, as nearly 
as may be, to one third of the number of the house of representatives. 
The present number of senators is eighteen ; of representatives, fifty-three. 

The annual election is held on the first Monday in November, and the 
following day. The legislature met at Detroit, until the year 1847, 
when the seat of government was permanently located at Lansing. 

The supreme executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the 
people, who holds his office for two years, and a lieutenant-governor, who 
is chosen at the same time, in the same manner, and for the same term, as 
the governor. The lieutenant-governor is president of the senate. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, consisting of a chief- 
justice and three associate justices ; in a court of chancery, held by a 
chancellor, at five different parts of the state within the year, the state 
being divided into five chancery circuits ; in circuit courts, there being 
four judicial circuits, in each of which one of the judges of the supreme 
court sits as presiding judge (in each county one or two terms of the cir- 
cuit court are held annually) ; also in county courts, and in such other 
courts as the legislature may from time to time establish. The judges of 
the supreme court are appointed by the governor and senate for the term 
of seven years. Judges of all county courts, associate judges of circuit 
courts, and judges of probate, are elected by the people for the term of 
four years. Each township is authorized to elect four justices of the 
peace, who hold their offices for four years. 

In all elections, every white male above the age of twenty-one years, 
having resided in the state six months next preceding any election, is en- 
titled to vote at such election. All votes are given by ballot, except for 
such township officers as may by law be directed to be otherwise chosen. 

Slavery, luttenes, and the sale of lottery tickets, are prohibited. 

MISSOURI. 

TriE constitution of this state was formed by a convention at St. Louis, 
in June, 1820. In January, 1846, a new constitution was formed by a 
state convention at Jefl'erson ; which was submitted to the people on the 
first Monday of August in the latter year, and rejected. The constitution 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. G67 

adopted in 1820, is therefore, still in force, and the outlines thereof are as 
follows : — 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representa- 
tives, styled together the General Assembly. The senators, in num- 
ber not fewer than fourteen, nor more than thirty-three, shall be thirty years 
old, have the qualification of representatives, be inhabitants of the state 
for four years, and shall be chosen bj' districts, for four years, one half 
every second year. The representatives, in number not more than one 
hundred, shall be chosen in counties every second year ; they must be 
free white male citizens of the United States, twenty-four years old, in- 
habitants of the state for two years and of the county for one year next 
before the election. Every free white male citizen of the United States, 
twenty-one years old, resident in the state one year before the election, and 
three months in the place where he offers his vote, may vote at elections. 

The elections are held biennially, on the first Monday in August. The 
legislature meets every second year, on the first Monday in November, at 
the city of Jefferson. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is elected by the 
people, once in four years, and is ineligible for the next four years. A 
lieutenant-governor is also chosen, for the same term, who is, ex officio, 
president of the senate. The governor and lieutenant-governor must be 
thirty-five years old, natives of the United States, or citizens thereof at the 
adoption of the constitution. The governor may veto a bill, but a majority 
of both houses may pass it, notwithstanding his veto. If the office of 
governor be vacant, it shall be filled by the lieutenant-governor, and after 
him by the president of the senate pro tern. 

The supreme court consists of three judges, appointed by the governor 
and senate, and has appellate jurisdiction only. Circuit courts have ex- 
clusive criminal jurisdiction, unless deprived of it by law, and hear all 
civil cases not cognizable by a justice of the peace. The equity jurisdic- 
tion is divided between the circuit and supreme courts. Judges of the su- 
preme court must be thirty years old, may hold office until sixty-five, and may 
be removed upon address of two thirds of both houses of the legislature. 

One bank, and no more, may be established, with not more than five 
branches, and a total capital of not more than five millions of dollars, one 
half, at least, reserved to the state. 

The general assembly, by a vote of two thirds of the members, may 
propose amendments to the constitution, and if, at the first session there- 
after, they are confirmed by a vote of two thirds of the members, they be- 
come part of the constitution. 

IOWA. 

The constitution of the state of Iowa, was adopted by a state conven- 
tion at Iowa city, on the 18th of May, 1846, and accepted by the people 
in August of the same year. 

The general assembly consists of a senate and house of representatives, 
the sessions of which, held at Iowa city, are biennial, commencing on the 
first Monday in December after their election, which takes place on the 
first Monday of August, biennially. Senators, not less than one third, nor 
more than one half as numerous as the representatives, must be twenty- 
five years of age, chosen for four years, one half bieimially. Representatives 
shall be chosen for two years ; they must be twenty-one years of age, and 
have resided in the state one year at least, and in their district thirty days 



65S SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

previous to the election. The representatives shall not be less than twen- 
ty-six, nor more than thirty-nine, till the white population amounts to one 
hundred and seventy-five thousand ; afterward they shall not be less than 
thirty-nine, nor more than seventy-two. 

Every white male citizen of the United States, twenty-one years old, 
idiots, insane, or infamous persons excepted, having resided in the state 
six months, and in the county where he claims to vote twenty days, has the 
right of suffrage. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, chosen by a plurality of 
votes for a term of four years ; he must be thirty years old, and have re- 
sided in the state for two years. If the governor, for any cause, be dis- 
abled, the secretary of the state, and after him the president of the sen- 
ate, and after him the speaker of the house, acts as governor. 

The judicial authority is vested in a supreme court, consisting of a chief 
justice and two associates, elected by the general assembly for six years ; 
in district courts, the judges of which are elected by the people in their 
respective districts, each for five years ; and in justices of the peace. 

No state debts can be created exceeding one hundred thousand dollars, 
except in case of war or insurrection, unless authorized by a special law 
approved by a majority of the votes of the people. No corporation with 
banking privileges shall be created, and private banking shall be prohibit- 
ed by law. Other corporations may be organized under general laws, 
with certain restrictions. The state shall never become a stockholder in 
any corporation. A superintendent of public instruction is chosen by the 
people once in three years ; also a secretary of state, an auditor, and a 
treasurer, once in two years. 

Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, unless for the punishment of 
crimes, shall ever be tolerated in this state. To amend the constitution, 
the general assembly must submit the question of a convention to the peo- 
ple at the next general election ; and if a majority are in favor thereof, 
the assembly shall provide for the election of delegates to a convention to 
be held in six months after the vote of the people in favor thereof. 

WISCONSIN. 

The constitution was adopted by a state convention at Madison city, 
February 1, 1848. The legislature consists of a senate and assembly, 
and meets annually on the first Monday in January, at Madison. 

The senators, in number not more than one third, nor fewer than one 
fourth, of the assembly, are chosen by the people, in districts for two 
years, one half each year. Members of the assembly, in number not 
fewer than fifty-four, nor more than one hundred, must be qualified elec- 
tors in their districts, resident one year in the state, and chosen annually 
on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday of November. 

All males twenty-one years old, residents of the state for one year next 
before the election, who are white citizens of the United States, or white 
foreigners who have declared their intention to become citizens, or per- 
sons of Indian bipod, once declared by the laws of the United States to 
be citizens, or civilized persons of Indian descent, not members of a tribe, 
may vole at elections. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, who is chosen by the 
people, by a plurality of votes, for a term of two years. In default of the 
governor, his duties are discharged by a lieutenant-governor, who is cho- 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 6C9 

sen by a plurality of votes, for tho same term and with the same qualifica- 
tions as the governor, and is president of the senate, with a casting vote. 
The governor's veto may be overruled by a vote of two thirds of the mem- 
'bers present in each house. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court, in circuit courts, 
judges of probate, and justices of the peace, all elected by the people. 
Judges of the circuit courts are chosen at a separate election by the people, 
by circuits, for six years. The same judges sit as a supreme court, to try 
cases upon appeal, without a jury. The legislature may erect a separate 
supreme court, to consist of three judges chosen by the people for six years, 
in which case, the number of circuit judges may be reduced. Probate jud- 
ges and justices of the peace are elected by the people for two years. In 
every organized county the legislature may appoint one or more persons, 
with powers not exceeding those of a circuit judge at chambers. 

The credit of the state shall never be lent ; nor shall any debt be con- 
tracted, nor money paid for internal improvements, unless the state hold 
trust property dedicated to such purposes. Except in case of war, inva- 
sion, or insurrection, no debt shall be contracted, exceeding one hundred 
thousand dollars. The legislature shall prevent towns and cities from 
contracting debts. No general or special law to create a bank or banks 
shall be passed, till a majority of the votes at a general election shall have 
been in favor of a bank, and until such a majority have afterward approved 
the act as passed. Corporations, except banks, may be created under 
general laws, but not by special acts, except in specified cases. 

Slavery and imprisonment for debt are prohibited. A state superintend- 
ent of education shall be chosen by the people. 

Amendments to the constitution agreed to by a majority of members of 
both houses of the legislature, if again approved by a majority of the suc- 
ceeding legislature, shall be submitted to the people, and if approved by 
a majority of their votes, shall become a part of the constitution. A ma- 
jority of each house may recommend a convention to change the consti- 
tution, and a majority of votes at a general election afterward, may author- 
ize the calling of such convention. 

TEXAS. 

The constitution of the state of Texas was adopted by a convention of 
delegates at the city of Austin, in August, 1845, and was approved by the 
people on the 13th of October following. 

The legislative power is vested in a senate and house of representatives, 
styled together the Legislature of the State of Texas. The style of laws 
is, " Be it enacted by the legislature of the state of Texas." 

The senators are elected by the people, by districts, for the term of four 
years, one half being chosen biennially ; their number is not to be less than 
nineteen, nor more than thirty-one. The representatives are elected for 
two years, by the people, by counties, apportioned according to their free 
population ; the number is not to be less than forty-five nor more than ninety. 

Elections by the people are to be held in the several counties, cities, or 
towns, at such times as may be designated by law. The sessions of the 
legislature are to be held at the city of Austin, at such times as may be 
prescribed by law, until the year 1850, when the seal of government shall 
be permanently located by the votes of the people. 

The executive power is vested in a governor, elected by the people, at 



670 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

the time and places of elections for members of the legislature ; he holds 
his office for the term of two years, but is not eligible for more than four 
years in any term of six years. At the same time, a lieutenant-governor 
is chosen for the same term, who is president of the senate, and succeeds 
the governor in case of death, resignation, removal from office, inability, 
refusal to serve, impeachment, or absence from the state, of the latter. 

The judicial power is vested in a supreme court of three judges, in dis- 
trict courts, and in such inferior courts as the legislature may, from time 
to time, establish. The judges of the supreme and district courts are ap- 
pointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of two thirds of the 
senate ; and the judges hold their offices for six years. 

The right of suffrage is granted to every free male person over the age 
of twenty-one years (Indians not taxed, Africans, and descendants of Af- 
ricans, excepted), who shall have attained the age of twenty-one years, 
and who shall be a citizen of the United States, or who was, at the adop- 
tion of this constitution by the Congress of the United States, a citizen 
of the republic of Texas, and shall have resided in this state one year 
next preceding an election, and the last six months within the district, 
city, or town, in which he offers to vote ; provided that soldiers and sea- 
men or marines of the army or navy of the United States, shall not be 
entitled to vote at any election created by this constitution. 

The legislature shall have no power to pass laws for the emancipation 
of slaves, without the consent of their owners. No banking or discount- 
ing company shall hereafter be created, renewed, or extended. No per- 
son shall be imprisoned for debt. 



COMPARATIVE VIEW OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

In the six New England states^ the executive and legislative branches 
of the government are all elected annually. The representation in the 
lower branch of the legislature is more numerous in those states than in 
the other states of the Union ; the representatives in the New England 
states being elected by towns to the house of representatives, while in all 
other parts of the Union the representation in that branch of the legisla- 
ture is by counties ; districts in South Carolina, and parishes in Louisiana, 
being local divisions synonymous with counties. 

An executive council, elected by the people, is peculiar to the state of 
New Hampshire. There are, however, executive councils, elected by the 
legislature, in Maine, Massachusetts, Virginia, and North Carolina. 

The governor possesses the veto power, or qualified negative, on bills 
and resolutions which have been passed by the legislature, in the follow- 
ing twelve states, viz. : Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New- 
York, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, Michigan, Texas, 
Iowa, and Wisconsin ; in these states the executive veto can only be over- 
ruled by a two third vote of both branches of the legislature. 

In the following ten, states the governor may return bills or resolutions 
passed by the legislature, but his veto may be overruled by a majority of 



SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 671 

the members elected to both houses, viz. : Vermont, Connecticut, New Jer- 
sey, Alabama, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, and Mis- 
souri. 

In the following eight states, the approval of the governor is not required 
to bills or resolutions passed by the legislature, but the same may become 
laws, after receiving the signature of the speaker or presiding officer of 
each branch of the legislature, viz. : Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, 
Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Ohio. 

In all of the states, except Virginia and South Carolina, the governor 
is elected by the people ; in those two states he is chosen by the legisla- 
ture. Lieutenant-governors are chosen by the people in Massachusetts, 
Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Kentucky, Indiana, Illi- 
nois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan, and Texas ; in Virginia and South 
Carolina, by the legislature. In the other states, the office of lieutenant- 
governor does not exist. 

In the New England states, a majority of all the votes given is required 
to constitute a choice, in elections generally, by the people ; there are 
exceptions in Maine, Vermont, and Connecticut, in elections for state 
senators, and in Connecticut, on second trials, at adjourned meetings, 
for the choice of representatives to the general assembly, in which cases 
a plurality of votes only is required for a choice. In Maine, New Hamp- 
shire, and Connecticut, members of Congress are also elected by plurality. 
In all of the states except those of New England, a plurality of votes 
given effects a choice in elections by the people. 

In all of the states, at popular elections, the manner of voting is by 
ballot, except in Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas, in which 
states, in all elections to any office of trust, honor, or profit, with excep- 
tions as to electors of president and vice-president, the votes. are given 
openly, or viva voce, and not by ballot. 

North Carolina is now the only state which requires a freehold qualifi- 
cation for electors for either branch of the legislature, members of the 
senate in that state being chosen by freemen possessed of a freehold with- 
in the district where they reside and vote, of fifty acres of land. In Vir- 
ginia, freeholders may vote for members of the house of delegates, in any 
county where they own a freehold of the value named in the constitution ; 
housekeepers and heads of families who shall have been assessed with a 
part of the revenue of the commonwealth, within the preceding year when 
they vote, are also entitled to vote at elections. 

Persons of color are entitled to vote at elections in the states of 
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. In 
the state of New York, they are also qualified to vote, if possessed of a 
freehold estate of the value of two hundred and fifty dollars, without any 
incumbrance. In all other states of the Union, persons of color, or those 
of African descent, are excluded from the right of voting at elections. 



672 SYNOPSIS OF THE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. 

Ministers of the gospel are not eligible as legislators in Maryland, Vir- 
ginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. In South Carolina, Ken- 
tucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri, they are eligible neither as 
governors nor legislators. In Delaware, they are not eligible to any office 
whatever. 

New Hampshire and Massachusetts are the only states whose constitu- 
tions make provision for religious establishments. In New Hampshire 
the legislature is empowered to authorize, and in Massachusetts the legis- 
lature is enjoined to require, the seA^eral towns, parishes, &c., in the state 
to make adequate provision, at their own expense, for the support and 
maintenance o( protcstant teachers, or ministers of the gospel. The con- 
stitution of 'New Hampshire requires the governor, members of the coun- 
cil, and of both branches of the legislature, to be " of the protestaiit re- 
ligion." 

The council of censors is peculiar to Vermont ; that body is chosen 
once in seven years, and among their other powers, they can call a con- 
vention to amend the constitution of the state. 

Massachusetts and New Hampshire are the only states whose consti- 
tutions appoint titles to the officers of government. The governor of Mas- 
sachusetts is entitled " His Excellency," and the lieutenant-governor " His 
Honor.'''' The governor of New Hampshire is entitled " His Excellency.''^ 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE 

Of the principal political and other Events in American History, from the 
Discovery in 1492 to 1846. 

1492. Aug. 3, Columbus sets sail from Palos, in Spain. 

" Oct. 12, First land discovered (one of the Bahamas). 

" " 27, Cuba discovered. 

" Dec. 6, Hayti or Hispaniola discovered. 

1493. Jan. 16, Columbus returns to Spain. 

" Sept. 25, Columbus sails from Cadiz on his second voyage. 

" Dec. 8, Columbus lays the foundation of Isabella, in Hispaniola, the first 
European town in the New World. 

1494. May 5, Jamaica discovered. 

1496. Mar. 10, Columbus sails again for Spain. 

1497. June 24, Newfoundland discovered by the Cabots. 

1498. May 30, Columbus sails from Spain on his third voyage. 
" July 31, Trinidad discovered. 

" Aug. 1, America discovered by Columbus. 

1499. June 16, America discovered by Americus Vespucius. 

1500. Amazon river discovered by Pinzon. 

" April 23, Brazil discovered by Cabral. 

1502. May 11, Columbus sails on his last voyage. 

" Aug. 14, Bay of Honduras discovered by Columbus. 

1504. Sept. 2, Columbus returns to Spain. 

1506. May 20, Columbus dies, in his fifty-ninth year. 

1508. St. Lawrence river first navigated by Aubert. 

1512. April 2, Florida discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon. 

" Baracoa, the first town in Cuba, built by Diego Velasquez. 

1513. Sept. 25, Pacific ocean discovered by Vasco Nunez de Balboa. 

1516. Rio de la Plata discovered by Juan Diaz de Solis. 

1517. Patent granted by Charles V. for an annual import of 4,000 negro slaves tO 

Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. 

" Yucatan discovered by Francis Hernandez Cordova. 

1519. Mar. 13, Cortes lands at Tabasco, in Mexico. 
" April 22, Cortes arrives at San Juan de UUoa. 
*' Vera Cruz settled by Cortes. 

" Nov. 8, Cortes enters Mexico. 

1520. Montezuma dies. 

« Nov. 7, Straits of Magellan discovered by Ferdinand Magellan. 

1521. Aug. 13, Mexico taken by Cortes. 

1522. Bermudas discovered by Juan Bermudez. 
1525. First invasion of Peru by Pizarro and Ahnagro. 
1528. Pizarro appointed governor of Peru. 

J531. Second invasion of Peru by Pizarro. 

1532. First colony founded in Peru by Pizarro. 

1535. Chili invaded by Almagro. 

1537. California discovered by Cortes. 

1539. May 18, Ferdinand de Soto sails from Havana, on an expedition for the con- 
quest of Florida. 

1541. Aug. 6, Orellana explores the Amazon, and arrives at the ocean. 

1545. Mines of Potosi, in South America, discovered. 

1548. Platina discovered in the south of Mexico. 

1563. Slaves first imported into the West Indies by the English. 

1576. Elizabeth's and Frobisher's straits discovered by Martin Frobisher. 

1585. June 26, Virginia visited by Sir Walter Raleigh. 
43 



674 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 

1586. Tobacco introduced into England by Mr. Lane. 

1587. Aug. 13, first Indian baptized in Virginia. 

1602. May 15, Cape Cod named by Bartholemew Gosnold. 
" " 21, Martha's Vineyard discovered by Gosnold. 

1607. May 13, Jamestown, Virginia, founded. 

1608. July 3, Quebec founded. 

1609. Hudson river discovered by Henry Hudson. 
1611. Lake Champlain discovered by Champlain. 

1616. Baffin's bay discovered by Baffin. 

1617. Pocahontas dies in England. 

1619. June 19, first general assembly in Virginia. 

1*0 19. May 20, Long Island sound first navigated by Dermer. 

1620. Aug. 5, Puritans sail from Southampton, England, for America. 
" Nov. 10, Puritans anchor at Cape Cod. 

*' " first white child born in New England. 

" Dec. 11, first landing at Plymouth. 

" " 25, first house built at Plymouth. 

" Slaves first introduced into Virginia by the Dutch. 

1621. May 12, first marriage at Plymouth. 

1630. Boston settled. 

" Oct. 19, first general court of Massachusetts colony, holden at Boston. 

1631. Delaware settled by the Swedes. 

1632. First church built at Boston. 

1633. First house erected in Connecticut, at Windsor. 

1634. Maryland settled. 

" Roger Williams banished from Massachusetts. 

1636. Hartford, Connecticut, settled. 

" Providence founded by Roger Williams. 

1637. J'irst synod convened at Newtown (now Cambridge), Massachusetts. 

1638. New Haven founded. 

" Harvard college founded. 

" June 1, earthquake in New England. 

1639. Jan. 14, convention at Hartford, Connecticut, for forming a constitution. 
" April, first general election at Hartford- 

" First printing-press established at Cambridge, Massachusetts, by Stephen Day. 

1642. Oct. 9, first commencement at Harvard college. 

1643. May 19, union of the New England colonies. 

1646. ^ First act passed by the general court of Massachusetts, for the spread of the 

gospel among the Indians. 

1647. May 19, first general assembly of Rhode Island. 

1648. First execution for witchcraft. 
" New London settled. 

1650. Harvard college chartered. 

" Constitution of Maryland settled. 

1651. Navigation-act passed by Great Britain. 

1652. First mint established in New England. 
1654. Yale college first projected by Mr. Davenport. 

1663. Jan. 26, earthquake felt in New England, New Netherlands, and Canada. 

1664. Aug. 27, surrender of New Amsterdam to the English. 

1665. June 12, New York city incorporated. 

1672. First copyright granted by Massachusetts. 

1673. Mississippi river explored by Marquette and Joliet. 

1675. June 24, commencement of King Philip's war. 

1676. Aug. 12, death of King Philip. 

1681. Mar. 4, grant of Pennsylvania to William Penn. 

1682. Oct. 24, arrival of William Penn in America. 

" Louisiana taken possession of by M. de la Sale. 

1683. First legislative assembly in New York. 

" Roger Williams dies, in his eighty-fourth year. 

1686. First episcopal society formed in Boston. 

1687. First printing-press established near Philadelphia, by William Bradford. 

1688. New York and New Jersey united to New England. 
1690. Feb. 8, Schenectady burned by the French and Indians. 

" First paper-money issued by Massachusetts. 

1692. William and Mary college, Virginia, chartered. 



CBRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 675 

1693. Episcopal church established at New York. 

" First printing-press established ia New York, by William Bradford. 

1695. Rice introduced into Carolina. 

1698. First French colony arrive at the mouth of the Mississippi. 

1699. Captain Kidd, the pirate, apprehended at Boston. 

1700. Episcopal church established in Pennsylvania. 

1701. Oct., Yale college chartered and founded at Saybrook. 

1702. Episcopal church established in New Jersey and Rhode Island. 

1703. Culture of silk introduced into Carolina. 

" Duty of £4 laid on imported negroes, in Massachusetts. 

1704. Tonnage duty laid by Rhode Island on foreign vessels. 

" Act " to prevent the growth of popery," passed by Maryland. 

" First newspaper (Boston News Letter) published at Boston, by Batholomew 
Green. 

1706. Bills of credit issued by Carolina. 

1709. First printing-press in Connecticut, established at New London, by Thomas 
Short. 

1711. South Sea Company incorporated. 

1712. Free schools founded in Charlestown, Massachusetts. 
1714. First schooner built at Cape Ann. 

1717. Yale college removed from Saybrook to New Haven. 

1718. Impost duties laid by Massachusetts on English manufactures and English 

ships. 

1719. First presbyterian church founded in New York. 

1720. Tea first used in New England. 

1721. Inoculation for smallpox introduced into New England. 

1722. Paper-money first issued in Pennsylvania. 

1725. First newspaper in New York (the New York Gazette), published by Wil- 

liam Bradford. 

1726. First printing-presses established in Virginia and Maryland. 

1727. Earthquake in New England. 

1730. First printing-press and newspaper established at Charleston, South Carolina. 

1732. Tobacco made a legal tender in Maryland at Id. per pound, and corn at 20d. 

per bushel. 

" Feb. 22, George Washington born. 

" First printing-press and newspaper established at Newport, Rhode Island. 

1733. Georgia settled. 

" Freemason's lodge first held in Boston. 

1737. Earthquake in New Jersey. 

•1738. College founded at Princeton, New Jersey. 

1741. Jan. 1, General Magazine and Historical Chronicle, first published by Ben- 

jamin Franklin. 

1742. Faneuil Hall erected at Boston. 
1750. First theatrical performance in Boston. 

1754. Columbia college founded in New York. 

1755. Defeat of General Braddock. 

" Sept. 8, battle of Lake George. 

" Earthquake in North America. 

" First newspaper (Connecticut Gazette) published at New Haven. 

1756. May 17, war declared with France by Great Britain. 

" First printing-press and newspaper established at Portsmouth, New Hamp- 
shire, by Daniel Fowle. 

1758. July 26, Louisburg taken by the English. 

" Aug. 27, Fort Frontenac taken by the English. 

" Nov. 25, Fort Du Quesne (now Pittsburgh) taken by the English. 

1759. Ticonderoga taken by the English. 

" Sept. 18, Quebec taken by the English. 

1761. Mar. 12, earthquake in New England. 

1763. Feb. 10, treaty of peace signed at Paris, between the English and French. 
" First newspaper published in Georgia. 

1764. Mar., right to tax American colonies voted by house of commons. 
" April 5, first act for levying revenue passed by parliament. 

" " 21, Louisiana ordered to be given up to Spain. 

1765. Stamp act passed by parliament. 

" Mar. 22, stamp act receives the royal assent. 



676 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 

1765. May 29, Virginia resolutions against the right of taxation. 
" June 6, general congress proposed by Massachusetts. 

" Oct. 7, congress of twenty-eight delegates convenes at New York, and pub- 
lishes a declaration of rights. 

1766. Feb., Dr. Franklin examined before the house of commons, relative to the 

repeal of the stamp-act. 

" Mar. 18., stamp-act repealed. 

1767. Tax laid on paper, glass, painters' colors, and teas. 
1760. Dartmouth college incorporated. 

" American philosophical society instituted at Philadelphia. 

1770. Tea-plant introduced into Georgia. 

1773. Tea thrown overboard at Boston. 

1774. Boston port-bill passed. 

" Sept. 4, first continental Congress at Philadelphia. 

" Dr. Franklin dismissed from the postoffice. 

1775. April 19, battle of Lexington. 

" May 10, Ticonderoga taken by the provincials. 

« June 17, battle of Bunker's Hill. 

" July 2, General Washington arrives at Cambridge. 

" Dec. 13, resolution of Congress to fit out a navy of thirteen ships. 

" " 31, assault on Quebec, and death of General Montgomery. 

1776. Jan. 3, battle near Princeton. 

" March 17, Boston evacuated by the British. 

" July 4, declaration of independence. 

" Sept. 11, battle of Brandywine. 

** " 15, the British take possession of New York. 

" " 27, the British take possession of Philadelphia. 

" Oct. 4, battle of Germantown. 

« " 22, battle of Red Bank. 

*' « 28, battle of White Plains. 

** Nov. 16, capture of Fort Washington by the British. 

« Dec. 26, battle of Trenton. 

J 777. Sept. 19, battle near Stillwater. 

1778. June 28, battle at Monmouth courthouse. 

" Dec. 29, Savannah taken by the British. 

1780. Aug. 16, battle near Camden. 

1781. Bank of North America established. 
" Jan. 17, battle of Cowpens. 

« March 15, battle of Guilford. 

" Sept. 5, Fort Trumbull, Conn., taken by Arnold, and New Londoa bornt 

« " 8, battle at Eutaw. 

" Oct. 19, surrender of Lord Cornwallis. 

1782. March 4, resolution of the house of commons in favor of peace. 

" April 19, independence of United States acknowledged by Holland. 

" July, evacuation of Savannah. 

•* Dec. 14, evacuation of Charlestown. 

1783. Jan. 20, cessation of hostilities agreed on. 

" Feb. 5, independence of the United States acknowledged by Sweden. 

« « 25, « « « Denmark. 

« March 24, « « « Spain. 

" July, « « « Russia. 

" April 11, proclamation of peace by Congress. 

" " 19, peace proclaimed in the army by Washington. 

" Sept. 3, definitive treaty of peace signed at Paris. 

" Oct. 18, proclamation for disbanding the army. 

" Nov. 2, Washington's farewell orders. 

" " 25, New York evacuated by the British. 

1784. Feb., first voyage to China from New York. 

1785. July 9, and Aug. 5, treaty with Prussia. 

1786. Shay's insurrection in Massachusetts. 

" Sept. 20, insurrection in New Hampshire. 

1787. Sept. 17, federal constitution agreed on by conventioa. 

1788. Federal constitution adopted. 

1789. March 3, George Washington elected president, 
" April 30, inauguration of George Washington. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 677 

1790. District of Columbia ceded by Virginia and Maryland. 
" May 29, constitution adopted by Rhode Island. 

1791. Mar. 4, Vermont admitted into the Union. 
" Bank of the United States established. 

" First folio Bible printed by Worcester of Masa. 

1792. June 1, Kentucky admitted into the Union. 

1793. Washington re-elected president. 
" Death of John Hancock. 

1794. Insurrection in Pennsylvania. 

1796. June 1, Tennessee admitted into the Union. 

" Dec. 7, Washington's last speech to Congress. 

1797. March 4, John Adams inaugurated president. 

1798. Washington reappointed commander-in chief. 

1799. Dec. 14, death of George Washington. 

1800. Seat of government removed to Washington. 
" May 13, disbanding of the provisional army. 

1801. March 4, Thomas Jefferson inaugurated president. 

1802. July 20, Louisiana ceded to France by Spain. 

1803. Feb. 19, Ohio admitted into the Union. 

1803. April 30, Louisiana purchased by the United States. 

" August, Commodore Preble bombards Tripoli. 

1805. June 3, treaty of peace with Tripoli. 

1806. Expedition of Lewis and Clark to the mouth of the Columbia. 

1807. June 22, attack on the frigate Chesapeake. 
" July 2, interdict to armed British vessels. 

" Nov. 1 1, British orders in council. 

" Dec. 17, Milan decree. 

" " 22, embargo laid by the American government. 

1808. Jan. 1, slave-trade abolished. 
" April 17, Bayonne decree. 

1809. March 1, embargo repealed. 

" " 4, James Madison inaugurated president. 

1810. March 23, Rambouillet decree. 

1811. May 16, engagement between the frigate President and Little Belt. 
" Nov. 7, battle of Tippecanoe. 

1812. April 3, embargo laid for ninety days. 

" June 19, proclamation of war. (War declared June 18th.) 

*' " 23, British orders in council repealed. 

" Aug. 15, surrender of General Hull. 

** Action between the frigates Constitution and Guerriere. 

" Nov., defeat at Queenstown. 

*' Action between the Frolic and Wasp. 

« " " United States and Macedonian. 

" April 8, Louisiana admitted into the Union. 

1813. April 27, capture of York, Upper Canada. 
« May 27, battle of Fort George. 

** June 1, Chesapeake captured by the Shannon. 

" Sept. 10, Perry's victory on Lake Erie. 

«* Oct. 5, battle of the Thames. 

« Dec. 13, Buffalo burnt. 

1814. March 28, action between the frigates Essex and Phoebe, 
** July 5, battle of Chippewa. 

« " 25, battle of Bridgewater. 

** August, Washington city captured, and capitol burnt. 

" " 9, 11, Stonington bombarded. 

« " 11, M'Donough's victory on Lake Champlain. 

•* Sept. 12, battle near Baltimore. 

" Dec. 24, treaty of Ghent signed. 

" " 25, battle of New Orleans. 

1815. Feb. 17, treaty of Ghent ratified by the president. 
" March, war declared with Algiers. 

1817. Mar. 4, James Monroe inaugurated president. 
" Dec. 10, Mississippi admitted into the Union. 

1818. Dec. 3, Illinois « « 

1819. Dec. 14, Alabama « « 



678 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 

1819. May, first steamship sailed for Europe. 

1820. Mar. 15, Maine admitted into the Union. 

1821. July 1, Jackson takes possession of Florida. 
" Aug. 10, Missouri admitted into the Union. 
" First settlement of Liberia. 

1824. March 13, convention with Great Britain, for suppression of slave-trade. 
" April 5, convention with Russia in relation <o the northwest boundary. 

" August 13, arrival of General Lafayette. 

1825. Mar. 4, John Quincy Adams inaugurated president. 
" Sept. 7, departure of General Lafayette. 

1826. July 4, death of Presidents Adams and Jefferson. 

1829. Feb. 20, resolutions passed by the Virginia house of delegates, denying the 

right of Congress to pass the tariff bill. 

" March 4, Andrew Jackson inaugurated president. 

<' May 2, hail fell in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to the depth of twelve inches. 
" " 17, death of John Jay, at Bedford, New York. 

" Sept. 15, slavery abolished in Mexico. 

" Nov. 9, separation of Yucatan from Mexico, and union with the republic of 

Central America. 

•* Dec. 4, revolution commences in Mexico. 

1830. Jan. 20, General Bolivar resigns his military and civil commissions. 
" " 27, city of Guatemala nearly destroyed by earthquakes. 

" April 4, Yucatan declares its independence. 

1831. Jan. 12, remarkable eclipse of the sun. 
" July 4, death of James Monroe. 

" Oct. 1, free-trade convention at Philadelphia. 

« " 26, tariff convention at New York. 

1832. Feb. 6, attack on Qualla Battoo, in Sumatra, by U. S. frigate Potomac. 

" June 8, cholera breaks out at Quebec, in Canada ; being its first appearance 

in America. 

" Aug. 27, capture of Blackhawk. 

" Sept. 26, university of New York organized. 

" Nov., union and state-rights convention of South Carolina. 

" Dec. 28, John C. Calhoun resigns the office of vice-president. 

1833. Mar. 1, new tariff-bill signed by the president. 

" " 4, Andrew Jackson inaugurated president for a second term. 

« "11, state-rights convention of South Carolina. 

« " 29, Santa Anna elected president of Mexico. 

" May 16, " inaugurated " 

" Oct. 1, public deposites removed from the bank of the United States, by order 

of General Jackson. 

" Nov. 13, remarkable meteoric showers in the United States. 

1834. Mar. 28, vote of censure by the senate against General Jackson, for remo- 

ving the deposites. 

1835. April 18, French indemnity-bill passes the chamber of deputies. 
" Dec. 16, great fire in New York. 

1836. April 21, battle of San Jacinto, in Texas. 

" June 14, Arkansas admitted into the Union. 

" Dec. 15, burning of the general postoffice and patent office, at Washington. 

1837. Jan. 26, Michigan admitted into the Union. 

" Mar. 4, Martin Van Buren inaugurated president of the United States. 

1840. Jan. 19, antarctic continent discovered by the U. S. exploring expedition. 
" June 30, sub-treasury bill becomes a law. 

1841. Mar. 4, William Henry Harrison inaugurated president of the United Stales. 
" April 4, death of President Harrison. 

" Aug. 9, sub-treasury bill repealed. 

" " 18, bankrupt act becomes a law. ' 

1842. March 3, bankrupt act repealed. 

1843. June 17, Bunker Hill monument celebration. 

1845. Mar. 1, Texas annexed to the United States. 
« " 3, Florida admitted into the Union. 

« " 4, James K. Polk inaugurated president. 

" June 18, death of Andrew Jackson. 

" Dec. 24, Texas admitted into the Union. 

1846. May 13, proclamation of war existing with Mexico. 



CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 679 

1846. May 8, battle of Palo Alto, on the Rio Grande. 
" " 9, battle of Resaca de la Palrna, do. 

" " 13, proclamation of war existing with Mexico. 

" June 18, United States senate advise the president to confirm the Oregon treaty 

with Great Britain. 

• ■ July 28, new United States tarifT bill passed. 

" Aug. 3, President Polk vetoes the river and harbor bill. 
" " 6, revolution in Mexico, in favor of Santa Anna. 

" " 8, President Polk vetoes the French spoliation bill. 

" " 10, Congress adjourns. 
" " 18, Brigadier-General Kearney of United States army, takes possession of 

Santa Fe. 

" " 19, Commodore Stockton blockades the Mexican ports on the Pacific. 

« Sept. 21, 22, 23, battles of Monterey, Mexico. 
" " 26, California expedition with Colonel Stevenson's regiment of 780 ofH- 

cers and men, sails from New York. 

" Oct. 25, Tabasco in Mexico, bombarded by Commodore Perry. 

" Nov. 14, Commodore Conner takes Tampico. 

" Dec. 6, General Kearney defeats the Mexicans at San Pasqual. 

" " 25, Colonel Doniphan defeats the Mexicans at Brazito, near El Paso. 

" " 28, Iowa admitted into the Union. 

1847. Jan. 8, Mexican Congress resolve to raise fifteen millions of dollars on the prop- 

erty of the clergy for the war with the United States. 

" " 8, 9, battles of San Gabriel and Mesa in California, fought hy General 

Kearney, who defeats the Mexicans. 

" " 14, revolt of the Mexicans in New Mexico against the United States au- 

thorities. 

« " 24, battle of Canada, in New Mexico. Mexicans defeated by the Americans 

under Colonel Price. 

« Feb. 22, 23, battle of Buena Vista. Mexicans 21,000 in number, under Gen- 
eral Santa Anna, defeated by 4,500 Americans under General Taylor. 

« " 28, battle of Sacramento. Colonel Doniphan, with 924 Americans, defeats 

4,000 Mexicans, 

« Mar. 1, General Kearney declares California a part of the United States. 

" " 20, city and castle of Vera Cruz taken by the army and navy of the United 

States, uniier General Scott and Commodore Perry. 

" April 2, Alvarado taken by the Americans under Lieutenant Hunter. 

" " 18, battle of Cerro Gordo. Mexicans under Santa Anna defeated by the 

Americans under General Scott. 

" " 18, Tuspan in Mexico taken by Commodore Perry. 

" May 1, Smithsonian Institution at Washington, corner-stone laid. 

" Aug. 20, battles of Contreras and Churubusco, in Mexico. Mexicans defeated 
by Americans under General Smith, part of General Scott's command. 

" " 31, new constitution of Illinois adopted by state convention. 

« Sept. 8, battle of Molina del Rey, near the city of Mexico. The Americans 
under General Worth (part of Scott's command), defeat the Mexicans under 
General Santa Anna. 

" " 12, 14, battle of Chapultepec, near Mexico ; the Americans, under Generals 

Scott, Worth, Pillow, and Quitman, defeat the Mexicans under Santa Anna. 
General Scott and American army enter the city of Mexico, on the 14th. 

" Sept. 13, to Oct. 12, siege of Puebla, held by the Americans against the Mexi- 
cans. The latter repulsed by the former, under Colonel Childs. 

« Oct. 9, the city of Huamantla, in Mexico, taken by the Americans, under Gen- 
eral Lane. 

«♦ " 20, port of Guayamas, in Mexico, bombarded and captured by the Amer- 

icans. 

" Dec. 31, the several Mexican states occupied by the American army placed under 
military contributions. 

1848. Jan. 27, a national convention to nominate president and vice-president called 

by the whig members of Congress. At an adjourned meeting it was resolved 
that the convention meet at Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 



680 CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. 

1848. Feb. 18, By a general order, Major-General Scott turns over the command of 

the U. S. army in Mexico to Major-General Butler. 

" May 22—26, the democratic national convention at Baltimore nominate Gen- 
eral Lewis Cass of Michigan, for president, and General William O. Butler 
of Kentucky, for vice-president. 

*' « 25, Major-General Scott received by the municipal authorities of the city 

of New York. There was a large military and civic procession. 

" " 29, Wisconsin admitted into the Union. 

'* « 30, treaty of peace between the United States and Mexico, which had been 

signed at Guadalupe Hidalgo, Feb. 2, 1848, afterward modified at Washing- 
ton, and confirmed by the Mexican Congress ; ratified by the American com- 
missioners, Sevier and Clifford, and the Mexican minister of foreign rela- 
tions, Don Luis de la Rosa. It was proclaimed in the United States, July 4, 
1848. 

" June 7, 8, the whig national convention meet at Philadelphia, and on the second 
day, fourth ballot, nominate General Zachary Taylor for president, and, on 
second ballot, Hon. Millard Fillmore for vice-president. 

« " 22, 23, democratic convention at Utica, N. Y., nominate Martin Van Buren 

for president and Henry Dodge (who declined June 29) for vice-president. 

" July 4, corner-stone of monument to General Washington, laid at the city of 
Washington. Oration by Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, speaker of the United 
States house of representatives. 

" Aug. 13, Oregon territorial bill, with prohibition of slavery, passed by Con- 
gress. 

« « 9, 10, free-soil convention at Buffalo, nominate Martin Van Buren, of New 

York, for president, and Charles Francis Adams, of Massachusetts, for vice- 
president. Sixteen states were represented by delegates. 

" " 14, Adjournment of 30th Congress, 1st session. 

« " 17, destructive fire at Albany, N. Y. 

« Sept. 9, destructive fire at Brooklyn, N. Y. 

" Nov. 7, presidential election. 

" Dec. 4, meeting of the 30th Congress, second session. 

« " 6, Taylor and Fillmore elected president and vice-president by the electoral 

colleges.. 

1849. March 5, inauguration of Zachary Taylor as president, and of Millard Fillmore 

as vice-president, of the United States. 



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